Can You Save Me?
by random-antics-echelon
Summary: Reid and Morgan's relationship ends after a fight. A devastated Reid visits his mother. Diane wants out of the home she's in, and she'll do anything to get out...even if it means endangering her own son. Can Morgan and the team get to Reid in time? SLASH.
1. FIGHT

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything "Criminal Minds" related…*sighs*

This is my first "Criminal Minds" fic, so it might not be that great. R&R though, thanks!

**FIGHT**

Spencer Reid didn't understand why this was happening. It seemed like lately all they did was fight about every little thing. Staying up or out to late, the station on the radio, the coffee sat too long…it didn't matter, but it caused a fight. These fights got worse every time it seemed, often ending with Spencer in tears and apologizing as if every time it was his fault. He was beginning to think it was. He wouldn't give up though he loved Derek Morgan with all his heart, and he couldn't stand the thought of losing him. He only wished Derek could see things the same way he did.

Spencer shut the cab door and began to walk through the rain to get to the apartment. The fight he and Derek had at work was about the case they were currently working. Spencer didn't see how the sentence Derek wanted for the unsub was fair. Derek was pissed, it didn't matter that the whole rest of the team backed up Spencer. Derek had gotten so mad he kicked Spencer out of the car and drove home alone, telling Spencer to get a cab.

_"Dereck, what are you doing? I'm going home too, you know," Spencer said, confused when Derek locked the car door before he could open it. "Derek?"_

_ "Get a cab, Reid," Derek spat back. "I don't feel like sitting next to you." _

_ Spencer stood in silent shock as Derek backed up and sped off, leaving him standing in the rain. "I'm sorry," he whispered, tears forming in his eyes._

Spencer swallowed and quickly unlocked the door. He was soaking wet and shivering. He had left his coat in Derek's car and hadn't had a chance to get it earlier. He finally got into the apartment and shut the door against the wind. Sighing, he took off his wet shoes and brushed some hair out of his face. He turned and faced the seemingly empty apartment, his glance going to the picture of him and Derek on the coffee table. He smiled slightly, remembering how happy they used to be. He looked up when he heard Derek enter the room. He frowned slightly and looked at the floor. "Hey," he said quietly.

"Spence…" Derek said, hesitating for a second. He looked across the room at Spencer, frowning when he noticed that he was soaked and shaking. He sighed and walked towards him, grabbing a blanket off the couch on the way past. "You're soaked," he said, putting the blanket around Spencer.

"I left my coat in the car," Spencer replied, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself but not looking up.

Derek slumped his shoulders. "I'm sorry I drove off without you earlier, Spence. I was just…I wasn't…it doesn't matter now, I was an ass and I shouldn't have been." He reached up and stroked Spencer's cheek, which he noticed was faintly tear-streaked. He mentally kicked himself for making Reid cry again, he hated seeing him in tears. "Please forgive me, I'm sorry."

Spencer swallowed, still staring at the floor. He looked up slowly, searching Derek's eyes. They seemed truly sorry and sad. "Ok," he said quietly.

Derek nodded and pulled Spencer into a tight hug, not caring that the man was soaking wet. "My god, you're freezing, let's get you changed, ok?" He led Spencer to the bedroom and helped him change into dry clothes. Once Spencer had pulled on a dry shirt, Derek pulled him into another hug, holding him tighter than before, smiling a little when he felt Spencer wrap his arms around him as well. "Are you ok?"

Spencer nodded and pulled back from Derek. "Yeah…I think I just need some sleep." He rubbed his tired eyes and looked back at Derek.

Derek nodded sadly. He had been hoping he could spend some time with Spencer watching tv or something, but he understood that he needed his sleep. It had been a long day at work, and him getting mad at Spencer hadn't helped. "Ok."

Spencer climbed under the covers and snuggled deep into his pillow. He sighed when Derek shut off the lights and crawled in next to him. He gave a small smiled when Derek wrapped his arm around him and pulled him close. _Maybe things will be better tomorrow. _He closed his eyes and quickly fell into a restless sleep.

**TBC**

**Ok, so the first chapter wasn't very long, but I'm working on it. The chapters should get longer as the story continues. Reviews are cool!**


	2. RESTLESS

**RESTLESS**

_Spencer sat stunned as Derek shot him a dirty look. "Derek," he said in a small, scared voice. "W-What did I do? Why are you m-mad at me?"_

_ "Shut up, Reid, just shut up!" Derek yelled back. He glared at Spencer, scaring the man even more. "I hate you! I wish I never met you!"_

_ Spencer burst into tears, covering his face with his hands. "But what did I do?! Derek, please! I love you! I love-"_

_ "Dammit, man, I said shut up!" Derek yelled, suddenly grabbing Spencer by the arms and shaking him violently. "I don't want to hear you, just get the hell out!" He pushed Spencer, sending him and the chair flying backwards._

_ Spencer cried out when he hit the floor. He was terrified now, tears were streaming down his face in torrents. He looked up to see the rest of the team standing there staring down at him. "Guys…please, make him stop! I don't understand-"_

_ "Maybe you should have just listened to Morgan," Hotch said suddenly, his expression unchanging. _

_ Spencer gasped. He hadn't expected this. "No…I don't understand! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!"_

"No!" Spencer yelled, sitting up in bed so quickly he got dizzy and fell back down again. He panted and covered his face with his hands, feeling tears welling up in his eyes.

"Spence? You ok, babe?" Derek asked, sitting up and looking down over his lover. He frowned when he saw Spencer shaking and crying lightly. "Baby, what happened?" He scooped Spencer up in his arms and held him close, feeling his tears soak his shirt.

"I…it was…it was just a b-bad dream," Spencer stuttered out through tears. He clung to Derek like there was no tomorrow. "You were there and…and the team…you said you hated me."

Derek frowned and pulled back from Spencer, forcing him to look at you. "Spencer Reid, I could never hate you. I love you more than anything in the world, you're my everything. I'd be nothing without you." He wiped away some of Spencer's tears. "I know we fight sometimes and I say things, but I don't really mean them. I hate myself whenever I upset you, please believe me. I love you."

Spencer sniffled and looked at Derek. "I love you too…I'm just so afraid I'm going to lose you."

"That's never going to happen," Derek said. He pulled Spencer close and kissed him, pouring his soul into it. After the kiss was over, he continued to hold Spencer and rock back and forth. After about five minutes he pulled back. "I think we should get ready for work."

Spencer nodded and released him grip on Derek. He felt a little better, but he was still upset about the dream. He wondered if Hotch would really say those things to him, and if Derek would really push him out of a chair.

Work was no less stressful than it had been the day before, except that Derek and Spencer hadn't fought yet. Spencer was hoping it would stay that way. He was hoping nobody noticed how agitated he was, he was still thinking about the dream.

Of course everyone noticed his discomfort. He gave everyone half frightened looks when he entered the briefing room. He even went as far as a startled jump when Hotch patted him on the shoulder as a greeting.

"Reid, are you ok?" Hotch asked.

"Um, yeah, why?" Spencer asked a little too quickly.

"You almost had a heart attack when I touched your shoulder," Hotch said, looking Spencer in the eyes. He noticed the dark circles under his eyes and how agitated the young man seemed to be. He frowned in worry. "Did something happen?"

Spencer swallowed and looked at the others in the room. Emily and JJ simply looked at him in mild confusion. Garcia flashed him one of her famous smiles, making him feel a little less nervous. "No, um…it was just…I didn't get a lot of sleep. You know…too much caffeine." He forced a smile and walked past Hotch to sit at the table next to Emily.

Hotch didn't believe him, and was about to call him out on it when Derek walked into the room. "Oh, hello Morgan."

"Hotch," Derek said, smiling respectfully. He spotted Spencer and winked at him, causing the man to smile for the first time that morning. Derek looked him over before taking a seat next to him. _I wonder if he knows how strange he's been acting all morning, I hope he's ok. That nightmare must really be bothering him._ He looked up when Hotch approached the white board in the front of the room.

"Ok, so our unsub seems to be flying under the radar recently," Hotch said. "No new victims in the past week."

"That's out of his pattern," Spencer said. "He must know we're watching him."

"Yeah, there doesn't seem to be any other reasons that stand out as to why he would change his motive all of a sudden," Emily said. She looked over at Spencer, who seemed more at ease now. "Remember at his last point of attack?"

Spencer sat up a little straighter. "He ripped down the camera we put up to watch him. When we got to the scene there were no bodies, but the camera was smashed to pieces on the ground with a note that said 'you'll never catch me.' He's definitely on to us."

Hotch nodded at the two agents. "Maybe we should try a different approach, a camera is a little too noticeable. And if he strikes again more than likely he'll look for cameras. He'll be more careful." He turned to the board momentarily. "We have some potential leads as to where he might strike next, given his pattern so far. JJ, Emily can you two go over the pictures of the crime scenes again to see if you can find anything else that stands out? Morgan, you and Reid can look into the victims' backgrounds again, dig a little deeper maybe. I want to talk to the owner of the building at this last crime scene, see if he can remember anything else about the guy."

The agents nodded and got up to go to their destinations. Hotch held Derek back for a moment. He waited until everyone else was gone before looking at him. "Derek, have you noticed Reid acting a little strange today?"

Derek frowned and nodded. "He had a nightmare last night. He said something about the team and me telling him I hated him. He didn't tell me much else. But whatever it was, it's really agitating him. He was practically shaking the whole ride here, and he didn't eat breakfast. He never skips breakfast." He peered out of the room, seeing Spencer already busy at work at his desk. "I'm worried about him, Hotch."

Hotch nodded and followed Derek's gaze to Spencer. "So it had nothing to do with too much caffeine."

"That's what he told you?" Derek shook his head. "He didn't have any coffee or anything all afternoon yesterday, and when he got home he went right to bed."

Hotch looked at Derek in confusion. "He got home later than you? I thought you left at the same time. Don't you ride usually ride together?"

Derek sighed and then told Hotch the story of how he left Reid in the parking lot in the rain. He had to take a cab home. "I feel really bad, Hotch, I shouldn't have acted like that."

Hotch nodded. "I assume you apologized?"

"Yeah, we're ok now, I hope." Derek looked out at Spencer one again. He noticed the young man seemed lost in thought about something totally unrelated to the case, based off the horrified look on his face. "I should get out there, he needs me." He looked at Hotch once more before leaving the room and joining Spencer at the desk. "Find anything interesting?"

Spencer shook himself out of his dream like state and looked up at Derek. "Nothing that we haven't found already."

Derek nodded and put his hand on Spencer's shoulder, shocked when the man tensed up and cringed under his grasp. "Spence, are you ok? You've seemed restless all morning, it's like you're not here."

Spencer hesitated and looked down. "I'm um, I'm just tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

Derek nodded. "That nightmare you had…you wanna tell me about it? Maybe I can help."

Spencer immediately tensed up again. He thought back to the horrid dream, of Derek pushing him to the ground and telling him he hated him. He shook his head, grabbing the arms of his chair for support. "No, I can't…I mean, I don't understand it, I-"

"Hey, hey, calm down, it's ok," Derek said, kneeling down next to Spencer. "You don't have to tell me right now, it's ok if you need time to figure it out."

Spencer sighed and relaxed a little in his seat. "Thanks, Derek," he said quietly.

"No problem," Derek said. He suddenly leaned over and quickly kissed Spencer on the cheek, causing the other man to blush and smile slightly. "I've got some more files back at my desk, I'll go get them and bring them over here."

Spencer watched Derek walk off to his desk. He sighed, wondering if the day would get any easier.

**TBC**

**Ok, so clearly Spencer is afraid his nightmare is going to come true. Will it? Review and find out in the next chapter!**


	3. HATE

**Chapter 3! Thanks to MissBethCullen for being the first person to review!**

**HATE**

Spencer's hope that the day would get easier didn't happen. They could find nothing else in their files that would give them a decent lead on the case. Derek was getting frustrated with the lack of information, which was starting to frighten Spencer. And every time Hotch would walk by his desk, Spencer would cringe an look at him in mild terror, confusing the man to the point where he actually stopped walking and stared at him for several moments before walking off again. All Spencer wanted to do was go home.

The day was almost over as Spencer was walking to the break room. He was hoping to find something to snack on before going home. He entered the break room and stopped short. Right in front of him was Derek, and in his arms was one of the pretty new girls from another department. He had a smile on his face, and the girl looked a little more than eager to be in his arms. Spencer watched as the two pulled back and Derek kissed her on the cheek. The girl giggled and walked off, leaving out of another door.

Derek turned, the smile still on his face, and saw a traumatized looking Spencer standing in the door. "Hey, Spence, you ready to go home?"

Spencer looked at Derek, shocked that he was acting like he didn't just hug and kiss a girl in the presence of his boyfriend. "Who was that?" he blurted out accusingly.

Derek frowned at Spencer's tone. "That's Annie. She's one of the new girls. You've seen her before. Come on, are you ready to go?"

Spencer remained in his spot for a moment before silently following Derek out. Once they were in the car, he sat in silence for a while, contemplating what he was going to say. He sighed and finally spoke up. "Why were you hugging Annie?"

Derek glanced over at Spencer, slightly surprised. "I was being friendly, Spencer. She's new, I was just making her feel welcome."

"Really? You had to kiss her to make her feel welcome?" Spencer was getting more agitated, and was looking at Derek with accusation.

"Spence, chill man, what's wrong with you?" Derek asked. He was starting to get upset that Spencer was interrogating him. "It was a kiss on the cheek, it meant nothing."

Spencer looked away out the window, his arms crossed. "It looked like it meant something to her."

"Dammit, Spencer, let it go!" Derek suddenly snapped. "I told you it was nothing! I can't be friendly with other women? I don't freak out when you look at other girls, Spencer."

"I don't look a other girls, Derek, I'm in love with you."

"Yeah, you're sure acting real mature about it," Derek said sarcastically.

Spencer looked over at him suddenly, hurt in his eyes. "I'm serious, Derek, I love you, and I don't want anything to come between us."

They were soon back to their apartment, and Derek got out immediately, slamming the door and causing Spencer to jump. Spencer immediately got out after him and walked behind him. "Derek, please just listen to me, I just don't think it's fair that you're doing stuff like that behind my back."

"I'm not doing anything behind your back!" Derek yelled, spinning suddenly to face Reid. "Apparently you have some trust issues that you need to work out." He threw his coat onto the couch and stalked off towards the bedroom.

That comment hit Spencer like a ton of bricks. Tears stung his eyes as he followed Derek into the bedroom. "Yes, I do have trust issues, you know that. You're one of the few people I trust, Derek, you and the team. I need to know you're not messing around-"

"You don't need to know anything!" Derek spat. "My god, Reid, look at you! You're so smart but you're so stupid at the same time!"

Spencer was shaking. "Don't call me stupid, Derek, I'm not stupid. I can see what's going on here."

"Uh huh, sure you can. You can't focus on anything lately. All you did today was creep out every time you saw Hotch or someone else, you spaced out every five minutes. All you've been thinking about is that stupid dream you had. You can't even focus on the case."

"You know we stand at different points on the case, I thought we settled this."

"Well, I think you're wrong." Derek glared at Spencer, his anger flaring now. He had pent up his rage all day at not finding anything on the case, and now he was releasing it. He turned away. "We're done, I'm going to bed."

Spencer stepped forward and touched Derek's shoulder. "I don't want to be done, we need to talk-"

"We don't need to talk about anything!" Derek snapped, shaking off Spencer's hand. "You obviously can't trust me. Maybe I should just go ask Annie out just to piss you off."

Spencer suddenly snapped unexpectedly and slapped Derek across the face. He gasped and stepped back, horrified at what he just did. "Oh my god, Derek I'm sorry, I-" He was cut off when Derek suddenly spun and slapped him back, twice as hard, knocking him back a few steps.

"What the hell, man!" Derek yelled. He stepped forward and harshly pushed Spencer to the ground. He glared down at him. "Get out! I hate you!"

Spencer gasped, looking up at Derek from the floor and thinking about his dream. _My god, it's actually happening, it can't be happening! _"Derek, please, I didn't mean to-"

"I said get OUT!" Derek yelled. He stepped forward and slammed the door shut, leaving a startled Spencer on the hallway floor.

"Derek?" Spencer barely whispered. Tears began to flow down his face, blurring his vision. He felt sick. He immediately crawled into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet. Once he was done being sick, he simply curled up on the floor and cried. "Derek…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…please, I love you…I love you, don't leave me." He knew Derek was ignoring him. He didn't have the strength to get up off the floor, so he remained there, curled up and crying until he fell asleep.

**TBC**

**Oh noes! Is his nightmare coming true? R&R, please.**


	4. SORROW

**SORROW**

Spencer had a very restless night. He kept waking up every half an hour, often getting sick to his stomach. He would cry himself back to sleep, only to wake up again later in the night. He never left the bathroom, too weak to stand up. At one point when he was in a dazed state he heard footsteps enter the bathroom. He figured it must have been Derek, but he didn't say anything. He felt Derek kneel down next to him and put his hand on his forehead. Then he realized that Derek had picked him up and was carrying him. He felt the cool bed underneath him and the covers being pulled up over him. Then he heard Derek leave, and then silence.

About an hour and a half later Spencer woke up to an empty apartment. He slowly got out of bed and walked into the small kitchen, hoping to find something that would settle his stomach a little. He found a note sitting on the table.

_Spencer, I told Hotch you weren't coming in today. You have the day to get your shit together and get out of my apartment. Leave the key on the table. Morgan_

Spencer swallowed hard and sat down at the table. _So it really is over between us? _He put his head down and cried lightly for several minutes before sitting up again. He didn't feel like eating now. _Guess I should start packing. _He checked the clock and realized he would probably have everything packed and out before Derek got home. _I won't have to see him look at me like I'm nothing, I guess._ He immediately felt sick again, and rushed back to the bathroom just in time. He fell to crying again as he got up and began to pack.

_**Meanwhile at the BAU…..**_

Derek sat at his desk, going through the mountain of paperwork that he and Spencer hadn't gotten to yesterday. He made himself look busy when in actuality all he could think about was Spencer. He felt like crap for treating him the way he did last night, knowing that he shouldn't have hit or pushed him even though he was angry. He deserved when Spencer hit him across the face, but he shouldn't have done it back. _I shouldn't have said those things to him, I shouldn't have left that note on the table. Poor Spencer, I don't know what to do. I'll never forgive myself if I don't get him back. _He sighed, thinking back to when he found Spencer that morning. It broke his heart to see him curled up on the bathroom floor. Of course he had still been mad at the time, that being the reason he left that god-awful note on the table. _I need to call him, stop him from leaving…I need to apologize. _He was just about to reach for his phone when Hotch came around the corner.

"Morgan, I'm visiting the last scene and need you come with me. You ready?"

Derek hesitated and pulled his hand away from the phone. "Uh, yeah. Yeah I'm ready. I just need to call Reid real quick."

Hotch nodded. I'll be in the car." He walked away, leaving Derek at the desk.

Derek sighed and pulled his phone out. He dialed the number for his apartment. It rang and rang until the answering machine finally kicked in.

_Hey, this is Spencer and Derek, we're not here so leave a message and we'll get back to ya._

Derek sighed as the machine beeped. "Hey, Spence, it's me. Please call me when you get the chance…I need to talk to you. Love you, ok? Call me." He hung up and stared at the phone for a moment, as if expecting it ring suddenly. He finally put it back in his pocket and grabbed his coat, heading out after Hotch to go to the scene.

The car ride seemed to take forever for Derek. He couldn't concentrate on anything and kept asking Hotch to repeat things. Hotch finally asked what was wrong.

"You've been really quiet all morning," Hotch pointed out. "Is it something to do with Reid not being here today?"

Derek sighed and nodded. "Yeah…I was a total ass to him last night. We had a huge fight and…well…"

"Something happen?"

"I slapped him and pushed him down."

"You did what?!" Hotch asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "I've never known you to do anything like that, Morgan, especially not to Reid.

"I know, I just couldn't control myself." Derek sighed again. "It gets worse."

"Go on," Hotch said, glancing over at him as he drove.

"He was sick all night, I don't think he got up off the bathroom floor. I found him there this morning, I put him in the bed. But I was still so mad…I left his note on the table telling him to get his shit and get out." Derek was silent for a moment. "I don't want him to go," he said quietly. "I made a huge mistake and I don't know how to fix it. I tried calling him but there was no answer."

Hotch sat in silence for a few moments, absorbing all this new information. They soon arrived at the scene and he parked the car, looking over at Derek. "Sounds like you two need to work some things out. I know you didn't mean anything you said to him, but you need to tell him soon."

"Yeah, I will," Derek said, getting out of the car after Hotch. He was glad he could tell Hotch anything, he felt that if he told Emily or JJ or Garcia they could get really mad with him. _Totally understandable, considering I'm mad at myself._ He followed Hotch into the building, waiting impatiently until he could get home to Spencer.

_**Back at the apartment…..**_

Spencer sighed as he put the last bag in the trunk of his car. It hadn't taken him as long as he expected. All he had to do was put the key on the kitchen table and leave. He swallowed hard as he walked back in to the apartment. He looked at the blinking answering machine. He knew Derek had called earlier, but he had been too upset and nervous to answer it. _He probably just called to tell me I'm a loser and see if I left yet. _He didn't want to listen to the message either, so he walked past the machine and into the kitchen. Slowly taking the key off his key ring, he finally set it on the table next to the note Derek had left. "I'm sorry I couldn't fix this," he whispered, a tear slipping down his cheek. He wiped it away and grabbed a pen. He quickly scribbled a note under the one Derek left, then set the pen back down. Suddenly losing his nerve, he slid down against the wall and began to sob. After a few minutes he calmed himself down enough to pull out his cell phone. He dialed Emily's number.

_"Hey, Spencer! Are you feeling any better? Hotch said you weren't coming in today."_

Spencer swallowed. "Um..a little I guess. Emily…can I ask a huge favor of you?"

_"Sure, anything."_

"Derek and I…he left me."

_"He what?!"_

"Please don't say anything to him, I don't want him to get mad again…I was wondering…is there anyway I could crash at your place for a few days? Until I find somewhere else to live? I'm sorry."

_"Don't be sorry, sweetie, this isn't your fault. Of course you can stay with me for a while, I have a spare bedroom. You take as long as you need, ok? I'm almost done here, so I can meet up with you at my place. And don't worry, I won't say anything to Morgan."_

Spencer closed his eyes and sighed. "Thank you, Emily. I'll see you later." He hung up and stared at the wall for a few moments before standing up again. He put his coat back on and walked out to his car. He was still a little tired, and his stomach hurt from not eating and constantly getting sick. He stuck the key in the ignition and turned it. He looked at the apartment one last time before driving off. _Bye Derek, I love you._

_**40 minutes later…..**_

Derek sped towards the apartment, praying that Spencer hadn't left yet. He pulled in the parking spot, panicking when he didn't see Spencer's car. _No, he can't be gone! _He raced up the stairs and unlocked the door. "Spencer! Spencer!" he yelled as he ran into the apartment. "Reid! Are you here?" He looked around hopelessly, finding not a trace of Spencer anywhere. _I'm too late…_Tears welled up in his eyes as he walked through the living room, noticing the message he left on the answering machine was still blinking, meaning it hadn't been listened to. He then walked into the kitchen, his heart dropping when he saw Spencer's key sitting on the table. He also noticed there was writing under the note he had left earlier. He picked it up and read it.

_Derek, I'm sorry about all the pain I caused you. I never meant to hurt you by saying those things. I know you don't want me anymore, but please remember that I love you and I always will, even if you hate me. You mean the world to me, but you deserve better then me. I guess I'll see you at work. Spencer_

Derek sat in the chair and let the paper fall back down to the table. He couldn't believe he just let the best thing that ever happened to him walk out of his life. His put his head down and cried lightly. _You're wrong, Spence, I don't deserve better than you…you deserve better than me. _He finally looked up at wiped away his tears. He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. He reached down and picked up the picture of him and Spencer that remained on the coffee table. _This is all I have left of him now, how could I have been so stupid?! _He held the picture close to him and leaned back on the couch. He prayed that some way, some how, he would get Spencer to come back home.

**TBC**

**Hopefully the next chapter should be up soon! Reviews = cool. **


	5. LOST

**LOST**

Spencer sat down on the bed and simply stared at the wall. He was in the spare bedroom at Emily's apartment, but it didn't feel right to him. This wasn't his bed and there would be no Derek in it with him that night. He bit his lip and forced back tears when Emily entered the room. "Hey."

"Hey," she said quietly, sitting down beside him and putting her arm around his shoulders. "How are you doing?"

"Ok, I guess," Spencer said quietly. He looked at her sadly. "I just wish I could have fixed this."

"It's not your fault, Spence," she said, trying to comfort him. Morgan shouldn't have been with that girl, he should know how bad that looked. And he shouldn't have acted that way at all." She lightly touched his cheek, which was bruised where Derek smacked him. "He shouldn't have done this either. I would have knocked him out on the spot."

Spencer smiled a little at the thought of Emily smacking around Derek. "I was scared."

"I know," she said, frowning a little. "Are you hungry? I know you haven't eaten all day. I can make you some soup or something."

Spencer looked at her and smiled sadly. "That would be nice, thanks."

Emily smiled back and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't run away," she said before leaving the room.

Spencer smiled again, Emily sure knew how to make him feel better. He sat back on the bed and thought. He didn't know how he was going to be able to face Derek at work, not after what happened last night. He considered calling Hotch and asking for a few days off. He needed time to find a new apartment anyway. Maybe he would even take a trip out to Vegas to see his mother. He hadn't seen Diane in a few months, and was starting to miss her. Sure they wrote letters to each other every week, but he needed to see her. He felt that she needed to know he and Derek were over. He recalled the last time he had visited her, he had taken Derek with him.

_"Hi, Mom," Spencer said, entering the sunroom._

_ "Spencer, sweetie, how nice to see you," Diane beamed up at him, extending her arms to hug her son. "I missed you, you haven't called in a while."_

_ "I know, I'm sorry. We've been really busy with a few cases." He looked up to Derek who was standing behind him. "Mom, I want you to meet Derek. He's my boyfriend. Remember I told you about him in our last letter?"_

_ "Yes, I remember," Diane said. She looked up at Derek. "So you're the boy who stole my son's heart?"_

_ Derek smiled and kissed her hand. "I sure am, ma'am."_

_ "So you two live together?" she asked, looking between Spencer and Derek._

_ "Yes," Derek answered. "For about three months now."_

_ Diane nodded. "Does Spencer eat good and get enough sleep? He's so skinny! And please tell me he stopped wearing those ridiculous shoes."_

_ "Mom, please," Spencer said in embarrassment. He blushed and caused Derek to laugh a little._

Spencer sighed and brushed a tear off his cheek. He didn't know how to tell Diane that he and Derek were over, he knew she liked him very much. She was always asking about him in her letters, and sometimes she even sent Derek one, asking him to keep an eye on Spencer. Those ones always embarrassed him, making Derek laugh. He remembered after the anthrax scare, which landed him in the hospital, Diane called in a panic, demanding to know if he was really ok. Once he hung up, Derek's phone rang, and it was Diane making sure Spencer hadn't been lying.

His thoughts were interrupted when Emily entered the room again, a bowl of soup in hand. He sat up when she handed him to bowl. "Thanks."

"No problem," she said, sitting next to him once more. She wanted to make sure he actually ate, she was worried about him getting sick again. He had gotten sick twice since he got to her apartment, but he wouldn't let her take him to the hospital.

"I don't know how I'm going to face him at work, Emily," Spencer said quietly, taking a break from the soup. "I don't want him to flip out on me or something."

Emily frowned. "Have you thought about taking a few days off? I'm sure Hotch wouldn't mind."

"Yeah, I think I'm going to call and ask him."

Emily nodded. She continued to sit next to Spencer until he was done with his soup.

_**At Derek's apartment…..**_

Derek continued to sit in silence on his couch. He didn't feel like doing anything. The picture he had earlier remained on the couch next to him as he stared blankly at the wall. _You're an idiot, Morgan! You shouldn't have said those things to him! He would still be here if you hadn't acted that way! _His eyes widened when he thought about the nightmare Spencer had mentioned…how he said that Derek said he hated him. _I actually told him that. _He looked up when he heard a knock on the door. Hoping that it was Spencer, he rushed over and opened it, mildly sad to see it was only Hotch. "Hotch, something wrong?"

"Not at all," Hotch said. "You mind if I come in?" He stepped in once Derek stepped aside. "Is Reid here? I'd like to speak to him too."

Derek frowned and slumped his shoulders. "No…I got back too late. He left."

Hotch frowned and put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I came to see if everything was ok, but I guess I got here a little too late as well."

"It's all my fault, Hotch," Derek said as he plopped back down on the sofa. "It just seems like lately all we have been doing is fighting. I couldn't help it. It was like a war trying to keep our relationship together and…well…I lost." He stared ahead momentarily before looking back to Hotch. "I lost him, and I think it's for good this time."

Hotch was about to say something when his phone rang. "It's Reid," he said with mild surprise. He flipped open the phone. "Reid?"

Derek looked hopefully at Hotch, he could hear Spencer talking on the other end of the line. "Is he ok?"

"Reid, are you ok? Where are you?" He frowned a little when Spencer told him not to tell Derek that he was at Emily's house until he found a new apartment. He nodded to himself when Spencer asked him if he could take a week off. "That's ok, I understand you need the time." He looked across at Derek. "I'm with Morgan right now, he wants to speak to you."

Derek frowned when he heard Spencer's panicked voice at the other end of the phone, begging Hotch not to put Derek on the phone, he didn't think he could handle it at the moment. "He doesn't want to talk to me."

"There's nothing to be scared of, Reid," Hotch said. He listened for a few more minutes. "Ok, well if you need me for anything don't hesitate to call me. Bye." He hung up and looked at Derek. "He doesn't want me to tell you where he's staying, I'm sorry. He sounds…afraid."

Derek slumped back against the couch and frowned even deeper. "After what I did to him, I understand." He put his face in his hands. "What am I gonna do, Hotch?"

"Give him some time," Hotch said. "He's taking a week off. Maybe once he returns to work he'll be a little calmer, you two can work things out then, ok?"

Derek nodded. _I hope so._

_**At Emily's apartment…..**_

Spencer tossed and turned and cried out in his sleep. He was having another nightmare.

_There was chaos and screaming everywhere. Spencer couldn't find the source. He didn't know where he was. He thought he heard his mother calling his name. He looked around frantically. "Mom?! Mom?! Where are you?!" He finally found her, sitting in her usual chair. She was smiling at him. He saw her talking but he couldn't hear what she was saying. He suddenly felt a stinging pain shoot through his body and he crumpled to the ground. He cried out as he saw his own blood beginning to pool around him. He felt weak, he could move. His eyes began to get heavy and he began heaving. He turned his head to the side, and he saw the team again. They looked terrified, and right in front of them was Derek. He had a look of panic, pain and love on his face. He began to run towards Spencer, screaming for him to hold on. Spencer found himself getting weaker and weaker, to the point where he almost couldn't breath anymore. "D-Der…Derek," he choked out. His eyes closed as Derek fell to the ground next to him, throwing his arms around him._

Spencer gasped and shot up in the bed. He was shaking and on the verge of tears. He looked up and saw a frantic looking Emily staring at him. "Em-Emily?"

"Are you ok?" she asked, looking him over. "I heard you down in my room, you were having a nightmare, weren't you?"

Spencer nodded and burst into tears, covering his face with his hands. "It was horrible! I think I died."

"Oh, sweetie," Emily said. She leaned forward and put her arms around him, holding him close to her as he cried. "It was just a bad dream, ok? You're going to be ok." She rubbed his back and sat up with him until he cried himself back to sleep. She gently set him down against the pillows and wiped the tears off his face. _Poor kid, he doesn't deserve this. _She didn't want to leave him alone, so she curled up next to him on the bed, quickly falling back to sleep.

**TBC**

**I'm on a roll with these chapters! Being New Year's Eve and I'm staying up late, I have lots of time to type. **


	6. VISIT

**Happy New Year, everyone! Here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think.**

**VISIT**

Spencer woke up, remembering he was in Emily's spare bedroom. He hadn't slept very well due to the nightmare he had, so he was still rather sleepy when he woke up. Figuring Emily was gone for work already, he decided to see if he could find something to eat. He walked out into the kitchen and found a note on the table.

_Spencer, I have some bagels and stuff in the fridge if you get hungry, there's juice in there too. I think I might be working late today so I might have to get some take out for dinner. I'll give you a call later and let you know. Make yourself comfortable and please don't forget to eat! Emily_

Spencer smiled at the note and set it back down on the table. He quickly found the bagels and juice in the fridge and sat down to eat. Once he was done, he decided to call his mother to see if she was up for a visit. He pulled out his phone and dialed the number.

_"Good morning, this is Alicia speaking."_

"Hi, Alicia, it's Spencer Reid," Spencer said as he walked back to the spare room.

_"Well, hello there sweetie! Diane has been waitin' for you to call. You comin' down for a visit?"_

Spencer smiled, knowing his mother was expecting him. "Yeah, I was going to try to get a flight out later today, maybe stop by for a few hours tomorrow. I'm in the process of moving so I can only stay for about a day."

_"Ok, darlin' I'll let her know you're comin'."_

"Thanks," Spencer said. He put away the phone and entered the spare room. He chose several outfits to take with him on his trip, then packed more of his basic essentials. He called Emily and left her message that he wouldn't be there when she got back. He put his coat on and headed for the door. He would have the flight to think about how to break the news to his mother about his breakup.

_**Meanwhile at the BAU…..**_

Hotch and the rest of the team were in the briefing room discussing the case. Derek was severely depressed about Spencer not being there, but he kept getting confused at the looks he was getting from the other women. Emily and JJ kept glaring at him, and Garcia would just shake her head and look away. Hotch ignored all of them, trying to focus on the case.

"Ok, we have reason to believe the unsub has moved locations," Hotch said, observing the white board in front of him."

"Maybe he thinks if he changes location we'll lose any trail we had on him," Emily said, looking back at Hotch. "Where has he moved to?"

"We checked his records of the last two days," Hotch said, now facing Emily. "His credit card records suggest that he bought a plane ticket, so he may be leaving the state. He also transferred all his money out of the bank and cancelled his account there."

"Seems like he doesn't plan on coming back," Derek said quietly, not looking at anyone.

Hotch looked at him momentarily before speaking again. "Rossi is calling the surrounding airports to see if he can get any information on the ticket he purchased, they can tell us where he's headed. So in the meantime we should all prepare to make a flight to wherever he is."

Derek looked down as the others started discussing potential leads and other places the unsub could have gone. He wasn't looking forward to leaving the state, he wanted to stay here and try to talk Spencer into coming home. He was also still upset that Hotch wouldn't tell him where Spencer was staying. He looked up again to see Emily staring at him again. He was about to say something when Rossi rushed into the room, waving around a paper.

"I've got it," Rossi called out, approaching Hotch and handing him the paper. "Our guy bought a one way ticket to Vegas yesterday."

Emily tensed up in her seat momentarily. She had gotten Spencer's message about him going to Vegas to visit his mother. She immediately wanted to call him. She also thought that if they were going to Vegas Derek would want to try and be with him. She felt she should let him know about that too. She looked up when Hotch spoke again.

"Ok, looks like we're headed to Vegas. We can get more information when we get there. Everyone meet back here by 7:00."

The room was almost clear when Emily approached Hotch. "Hotch, Spencer is in Vegas. He's visiting his mother."

Hotch looked at her and nodded. "Ok, I'll give him a call to let him know what's going on. That way he won't have any unexpected surprises if he runs in to any of us."

Emily nodded and left the room. She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Spencer's number.

_"Spencer Reid."_

"Spence, it's Emily."

_"Hey, is something wrong?"_

"No." She looked around momentarily to make sure nobody was listening. "I wanted to let you know our unsub has fled to Vegas. We're going to be headed out there shortly to pursue him. I wanted to let you know so there weren't any surprises."

_"Oh, ok. Thank you for calling me. My plane is about land in about ten minutes. If I see anything unusual I'll give you a call."_

"Ok, thanks. Be safe, ok?" She hung up and sighed. Putting her phone back in her pocket, she turned around, startled when Derek suddenly appeared right in front of her. "Morgan?! You scared me."

"Sorry," Derek said quickly. "I heard you on the phone, you know where Spencer is. Is he staying with you?"

Emily looked at him for a moment before walking away. "It's not really any of your business what Spencer is doing, Morgan. He needs time to think, you shouldn't disturb him."

"But he's in Vegas?" He asked anxiously. "I can see him and-"

"No, Derek, please just let him be for a while," Emily snapped. "He's visiting his mother, he doesn't need to harassing him."

Derek frowned. "But I need to tell him I'm sorry," he said quietly as Emily walked away from him. He sighed, knowing he needed to get back to his apartment and get his stuff for the flight. _I don't care what they say, I'm going to get him back. _

_**In Vegas, the next day…..**_

Spencer parked the rental car he had and began to walk toward the front door of the home. He had checked into a hotel close by the night before. He had still been pondering what to tell his mother about him and Derek. His heart hurt a little when he thought about him. At the same time he was hoping he wouldn't run into him, he knew the team had followed the unsub to Vegas. In the case that he did have to meet up with the team, he had his badge and gun on him.

He finally opened the door and walked into the main lobby of the home. He immediately recognized Alicia and smiled at her. "Hello, Alicia."

"Spencer, sweetie!" The lady exclaimed, racing out from behind the desk to give him a hug. Alicia was at least his mother's age and had short brown hair. She hugged Spencer tightly for several moments before releasing him. "My boy, you are so skinny!"

"So I've been told," Spencer said with a small smile. "Is my mom awake?"

"Yes, dear, she's sitting in the rec room right now. All by herself, poor girl, not even playing cards with anyone or nothing."

Spencer frowned as he followed Alicia. "Is she ok?"

"Well, she's been a little anxious the past few days, like she's anticipating something happening," Alicia said. "But she calmed down a whole bunch when I told her you were comin'. But she just sits there and looks out that window, lookin' like she's deep in thought."

Spencer frowned, wondering what in the world could agitate his mother so much. She knew he was ok, he wasn't really in any danger.

"Honey dear, where's that nice boy you had with you the last time you came here?" Alicia asked. They were almost to the rec room.

Spencer swallowed and looked down. "Um…we're not…together anymore," he said sadly.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry," Alicia said, patting Spencer on the back. She opened the door to the rec room. There were at least twenty people either playing cards, reading, or chatting with family members.

Spencer spotted his mom in the corner by the window. He quietly approached her, smiling when he reached her. "Hi, Mom."

Diane looked up, smiling a little when she noticed it was Spencer. "Spencer, I'm so glad to see you," she said anxiously, pulling her son into a tight hug.

"Glad to see you too," Spencer said, hugging her back. "Is everything ok? Alicia said you've seemed a little agitated lately."

"Where's Derek?" Diane asked, ignoring Spencer's question. "You didn't mention if he was coming or not."

Spencer hesitated and frowned. "Derek and I…we had a fight and…"

"Oh," Diane said, a sad look crossing her face.

"I'll be ok," Spencer said quickly. He looked up at her. "I'm looking for a new apartment…we just couldn't make it work." He shook his head. "What about you? You didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

"Are you ok? Is something bothering you?"

Diane tensed in her seat momentarily, her eyes darting around the room. "I want out of this place, Spencer," she said quietly, as if afraid someone would overhear her. "I can't take it anymore, I need out!"

Spencer frowned and leaned forward. "Is something wrong? Are they treating bad or something? I can talk to someone-"

"No," she said harshly. "Everything and everyone is nice here, but I'm losing my mind. I don't need to be here, Spencer, I can take care of myself."

"Mom, I'm afraid you can't," Spencer said. "It wouldn't be a good thing, you being on your own."

"I'm not incapable of taking care of myself!" Diane said, clutching the arms of her chair. "Please, get me out of here, I'm begging you."

Spencer sighed and sat back. This isn't how he wanted his visit to go. He rubbed his eyes and looked back at Diane. "I can talk to someone, maybe get you transferred somewhere else. There's going to be a lot of paperwork involved-"

"No paperwork, just take me out of here," Diane said desperately. "I can get everything out of my room, we can just go."

"I can't do that, Mom, you know I can't," Spencer said, trying to stay calm.

Diane looked at him, tears were starting to form in her eyes. "I thought you loved your mother."

"Mom, don't do that, you know I love you," Spencer said. He was about to continue when his phone rang. He realized it was Emily. "I have to take this call, Mom, it might be about the case." He turned to stand and open his phone when suddenly something hard crashed down on the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. "Oww," he moaned from the ground. He saw that he had been smacked with a heavy book. _Where did that come from?_ He felt something tugging around his waist, then he heard people screaming, chairs falling over. _What the hell just happened?! _He rolled over on to his back and looked up, completely stunned. There sat Diane, a glare on her face, and his gun in her hands.

**TBC**

**Ok, so Diane has Spencer's gun in a room full of people. What is she going to do? Review and find out in the next chapter. **


	7. SERIOUS SITUATION

**SERIOUS SITUATION**

Emily looked at her phone when she got Spencer's voicemail. _That's not like him not to answer his phone. I hope everything is ok. Maybe he's with his mom and doesn't want to interrupt their conversation. _"Hey, Spence, it's Emily. Call me back when you get this message. I wanted to let you know we got our guy, he was trying to old up a drug store to get more money. We're headed back to the airport. I'll talk to ya later." She hung up and put her phone away.

"He didn't answer?" Hotch asked, his eyes not leaving the road.

"No, guess he's with his mom," she answered. She looked in the rear view mirror of the SUV. JJ and Rossi were in conversation, JJ showing Rossi new pictures of Henry. Derek was simply looking out the window, a sad expression on his face. She thought back to the argument he had with Hotch earlier about trying to find Spencer. It took Hotch threatening to fire him to get him to drop it.

"He won't speak to me," Hotch said quietly, once realizing that Emily was looking at Derek.

"I know," she said. "You really think he's sorry?"

"Yeah, I do," Hotch said. "But I don't think Reid is ready to face him just yet. Hotch's phone suddenly rang. "Agent Hotchner," he answered.

_"Agent Hotchner? I was told to call you. We have a situation and we need your help."_

Hotch raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Ok, go on." He listened to the officer tell him about a lady in a home that was waving a gun around and demanding to be let out.

_"The lady's son is a cop or something, that's how she got that gun. Smacked him down with a book and just pulled it right out of his holster."_

Hotch paled slightly when the cop gave him the name of the home. "Thank you, officer, we'll be right there." He hung up and glanced over at Emily, the horror still in his face.

"Hotch, is something wrong?" she asked. She noticed Derek was now looking at them and JJ and Rossi had stopped talking and were paying attention as well.

"There's a situation…it's the home where Spencer's mother is in. I think he's in trouble."

_**At the home…..**_

Spencer trembled lightly and slowly stood up, looking at Diane in shock. "Mom…what are you doing? Please put that down."

"I want out of here, Spencer, I told you," Diane said, the gun firmly in her hand and pointed forward at nothing. All the people were either hiding under tables or behind couches and chairs. There was also a group of people peering in the doorway. Everyone was too scared to move.

"Mom, please put the gun down, you're scaring people," Spencer said, his voice a little shaky. He started to slowly move towards Diane. "We can work something out, I promise I-"

"No, you want to leave me here!" Diane yelled, suddenly pointing the gun at Spencer.

Spencer froze, never imagining he would be staring at the barrel of his own gun. He was also suddenly aware that he wasn't wearing a bullet-proof vest. He was in a very vulnerable position and had no back up. "Mom, please…don't do this." A thousand thoughts flew through his mind. Remembering his childhood, school, work, Derek…What if he never got to see Derek again? He thought about the nightmare he had the other night. _It can't be coming true._ He remained glued to his spot.

_"Diane Reid!" _a voice called over a loud speaker, startling Spencer and Diane.

"Who is that?!" Diane demanded. It sounded like it was coming from outside the building. The rec room was right near the main parking lot, and it was easy to hear conversation through the windows.

"_Ms. Reid, I'm Agent Hotchner, I work with your son," _the voice called again through the speaker.

"Hotch," Spencer barely whispered. _Someone must have called them. _He was slightly relieved, he knew Hotch could talk his mother into putting down the gun and letting people go. "Mom, please listen to Hotch, ok?"

"Shut up, Spencer! This is not the time!" Diane growled. Her hands were shaking, making the gun wave around a little.

"_Ms. Reid, we're coming in," _Hotch said over the speaker.

"No!" Diane yelled. An expression of panic crossed her face. She looked at Spencer. "You did this to me! You brought your friends here!"

"No, Mom, I swear I didn't, I was with you the whole time," Spencer said. He slowly reached forward. "Please, give me the gun."

"You..you little…you betrayed me!" Diane screeched. She suddenly raised the gun at Spencer and fired.

**TBC**

**What happened to Spencer?! Review and find out!**


	8. MAN DOWN

**MAN DOWN**

"Hotch, man, don't freak her out with the megaphone," Derek said as Hotch handed the megaphone off to someone else. "What if she panics? Spencer is in there and I don't-"

"Morgan, it would have startled her just as bad if we just barged in unannounced," Hotch said, keeping his wit. He knew Spencer was in grave danger and he wanted to act quickly. "The condition that Ms. Reid is in, she probably doesn't know what's going on right now. She might freak out if she suddenly realizes what she's doing."

"And what if she freaks and shoots Spencer?" Derek said. He didn't want to think about Spencer getting shot, and it worried him twice as much now. "We need to get him out of there, Hotch."

"I know, Morgan, we're going to-" He was cut off when gunfire sounded. "Damn! Let's move, guys!" He raced towards the building, a mortified Derek behind him.

_**In the building…..**_

Spencer gasped and grabbed his shoulder, stumbling back a few steps. He hissed in pain as he looked down at his shoulder, blood seeping between his fingers. He couldn't believe his own mother had just shot him with his own gun. His shoulder flared with pain as he looked back at Diane. She was glaring at him and still pointing the gun at him. "Mom…why…"

"I can't believe you, Spencer," she muttered. "You'd abandon your own mother.

Spencer grasped his shoulder as he stared at Diane. "I'm not…abandoning you. I want to …help you, if you…would just let me." He knew Diane wasn't in her right mind, that she wasn't going to remember this incident at all. She wouldn't remember shooting him. "Mom, please give me the gun. I can get us both out of here if you let me-"

"Stay back!" Diane yelled, eyes wild with anger and fear. She didn't notice that the other people were quickly sneaking from the room; she was too distracted by Spencer.

"Mom…I love you, you know that," Spencer said. He took a step forward. He was almost to her, just a few more steps. "I want to help you." He lunged forward for the gun.

"No!" Diane yelled again, once more firing the gun, hitting Spencer in the stomach.

"Ahh!" Spencer yelled. He crumbled to his knees, clutching the new wound in his stomach. He hunched over in pain, he was bleeding quickly, the blood staining his shirt. He looked up at Diane, tears forming in his eyes. "Mom…how could you…"

Diane's eyes widened, then she glared. "Don't speak to me that way."

Spencer moaned in pain, still staring at Diane. He felt himself getting weaker by the second; he knew he was losing too much blood. The others weren't going to get to him in time. He was gasping for breath. "I thought…I thought you…"

"God, shut up!" Diane snapped again. She fired the gun for a third time.

The third bullet hit Spencer in the chest, knocking him backwards to the floor. He was heaving now, and he could feel his lungs filling with blood. _This is it…the nightmare is real; I'm really going to die. _He choked, trying to get oxygen. He couldn't move and his eyes lids were getting heavy. He heard yelling and people running.

"_Ms. Reid! Drop the gun! Drop it or I'll shoot!" Hotch. "Don't tell me what to do!" Mother. Gunfire. Thump, yelling. "Reid!" "Spencer!" Derek…_

Spencer stared at the ceiling, his vision swimming. He couldn't breath. Was that someone next to him crying? He felt arms around him, warm. He felt so cold.

"Spence…Spencer," Derek cried, dropping to his knees and pulling Spencer into his arms. He didn't care that blood was getting all over his clothes, he needed to hold Spencer. "Pretty boy, look at me...please, wake up. Wake up, I can't lose you again, please." He started to sob. "Hotch! HOTCH! Get an ambulance, please!"

All Spencer felt was pain. His chest and stomach were throbbing; he couldn't feel his shoulder anymore. Blood covered the whole front of his shirt. _Hey look at that…Derek came back for me…he really does still love me…but I can't stay, can I. I love you, Derek, don't forget me. _He heaved suddenly, blood spilling from his mouth. Then his eyes closed and he went limp in Derek's arms.

"Spencer! NO! Oh my god! Spencer, please, no!" Derek screamed, pulling Spencer even closer to him. "Hotch, help me!"

Hotch rushed over and dropped down beside Derek. "I called an ambulance, they're almost here," he said. He looked sadly at Spencer. He felt for pulse. "He's still alive, Morgan."

Derek began to cry again and rock back and forth. "I'm so sorry, Spencer, I should have been here to protect you. If I hadn't acted like I had this wouldn't have happened, you would be ok right now. Please don't leave me, I can't lose you forever."

Hotch put his hand on Derek's shoulder momentarily. He then took off his jacket and threw it over Spencer's front, putting pressure on his chest and stomach to try and stop the bleeding. He gasped a little when Spencer whimpered lightly in his sleep. "Hold on, Reid, help is on the way." He was scared of how pale Spencer was; he knew he lost way too much blood. He looked up when the other three agents entered the room. "Guys."

"Oh my god, Spencer!" Emily exclaimed, rushing over to the men. "She knelt down and placed her hand on his cheek. "What happened?!"

"Diane shot him," Hotch said, keeping his focus on Spencer. He wasn't about to remove the jacket and let Emily see the full extent of the damage done to his body.

"Hotch, there's an ambulance waiting outside," JJ called, entering the room with Rossi behind her.

"Spence, please hold on," Derek said. He lifted Spencer into his arms and raced out the door with him.

"Oh god," JJ said, staring at Spencer in terror as Derek raced past with him. She looked at Hotch. "Is he going to be ok?"

"I hope so," Hotch said, following Derek out of the room. _I hope so._

**TBC**

**Please don't eat me, Spencer is still alive. But you can review. : **


	9. PLEASE BE OK

**PLEASE BE OK**

The ride to the hospital had been agonizing for Derek. He clung to Spencer's hand and watched as his lover was hooked up to an iv and an oxygen mask was placed over his pale face. He prayed Spencer would open his eyes and look at him, but he knew it was hopeless. He nearly had an anxiety attack when Spencer stopped breathing for several moments. Luckily the m.e was able to bring him back. Derek was also terrified at how much blood Spencer had lost. Hotch's jacket had been replaced by several large towels, which were now soaked with blood.

Once they got to the hospital, Derek stayed along side the gurney as Spencer was wheeled inside. "It's ok, babe, you're at the hospital now," he said, still clinging to Spencer's lifeless hand. "You're gonna be ok now, I promise. I'm gonna be here when you wake up." When the doctor told him he could go no further, Spencer had to be rushed into the operating room, he stood back and watched as his lover was pushed through the double doors and disappeared.

Not long after, the rest of the team appeared to find Derek against the wall sobbing. "It's my fault, it's all my fault!" he cried.

"No, sweetie, it's not," Garcia said, pulling Derek into a hug. "Please calm down."

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" he sobbed, tears rolling down his cheeks. "He should have been with us, he would be ok if he had been with us!" He looked sadly in the direction of the doors to the operating room. "It shouldn't have happened to him, this isn't fair."

"I know this isn't fair, but you have to be strong for him," Hotch said, taking Derek by the shoulders. "We all do, but all we can do is wait right now."

Derek finally calmed down after several minutes, and he sat staring into nothing in one of the chairs in the waiting room. All he could think about was Spencer. _I love you, Spencer, please be ok. _He prayed that Spencer would be ok, that nothing too damaging had been done to his body. He needed him to be ok.

After several minutes Hotch walked back into the room. He had taken is dress shirt off, for it had blood on it and he didn't want to alarm Derek. He was now in a regular black t-shirt. He approached Derek and knelt down in front of him. "Morgan, would you like to change? Your go-bag is still out in the car."

Derek looked down and realized he was completely covered in blood from clinging to Spencer back at the home. He slowly nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly.

"Ok, I'll get your bag for you," Hotch said, standing up. He returned several minutes later with a duffel bag and handed it to Derek.

Derek went into the men's room to change, cringing at the sight of how much blood was actually on him. He remembered that in the ambulance they had stripped off Spencer's shirt completely, exposing his pale abdomen. The blood gushing from the wounds in his stomach and chest made it look all the more horrible. He shivered, then took off his jeans and shirt. He changed into a fresh pair, then went out to wash his hands. He noticed there was also some blood on his face. He wasn't sure how it had gotten there, probably when he had his cheek up to Spencer's when blood had been dripping from his mouth. He once again shivered at the though, going back out to the waiting room with the rest of the team. He noticed Hotch was talking to a doctor, a disturbed look on his face. Derek froze momentarily. _Oh my god, this isn't happening…please tell me Spencer is ok. He can't be dead! I'll never forgive myself if he dies! _He approached Hotch as the doctor left. "Hotch?"

Hotch looked at Derek and sighed. "The doctor was telling me about Diane. As I'm sure you're aware I had to shoot her in the arm to get her to drop her gun."

Derek sighed, partly in relief that it wasn't about Spencer. "What did he say?"

"We were right to assume that she wasn't aware of what was happening," Hotch said. "When she woke up with her arm in a sling, she had no idea why she was in the hospital. She immediately demanded to see Spencer. She damn near had a heart attack when they told her what happened, they had to sedate her."

Derek frowned. "Must have been terrible."

Hotch nodded. "She nearly killed her own son, she's going to feel awful. More than likely she'll have issues forgiving herself. She probably won't be ok until she sees that Reid is ok."

"If he is ok," Derek said quietly, looking to the floor.

"He will be," Hotch said. "He's strong, I know he is. And he'll want to pull through for you."

Derek swallowed and nodded, returning to his chair. JJ reached over and put her hand on top of his. There were tears in her eyes that she was desperately trying to hold back. Spencer meant a lot to her too, after all he was the godfather of her son. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. "He's going to be ok, Derek," she said, partly to ease her own fear as well.

Derek looked at her sadly, wanting to believe her. He wanted desperately to just hold Spencer in his arms and tell him it would be ok, that he would be ok. He squeezed her hand and sat back, waiting for the doctor to come.

_**Two hours later…..**_

Derek snapped awake suddenly. He had fallen asleep in his chair and had a terrible nightmare.

_He was back at the home, staring down at Spencer's bleeding form on the ground. He was startled when Spencer opened his eyes and looked up at him. "Spence!"_

_ "Help me, Derek," Spencer coughed. His eyes were full of terror and pain. "I can't breath…it hurts so bad…please help me!"_

_ Derek tried to move forward but realized he was frozen in place. He struggled to move. "Spencer! I can't move! Please, hold on!"_

_ "I..can't," Spencer cried. He immediately began to sob, clutching stomach and convulsing in pain. "D-Derek! Help…m-me!"_

_ Derek began to cry as well. "Spence, baby please hold on!" He was stunned when Spencer arched his body in pain and then crashed down to the floor again. He was suddenly able to move, and he rushed forward. "Spencer! SPENCER!" He gently shook Spencer, but he was already dead. _

"Derek, are you ok?" Emily asked, noticing that Derek was shaking.

Derek looked at her sadly. "It was a nightmare," he said. He looked around. "Is there any news? Is he out of surgery yet?"

Emily frowned and shook her head. "Nothing yet. The doctor hasn't even come out yet. It must be bad, Derek."

Derek's heart constricted a little at the sound of this. "I just want him to be ok, Em. I want him back home with me."

"I know," Emily said, sitting down next to him and putting her arm around his shoulder. "When he gets better we can take all his stuff back to your apartment ok?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that." He looked up when the doctor suddenly emerged through the doors. "Spencer," he said, jumping to his feet. He walked quickly over to the doctor, the rest of the team behind him. "Doctor, how is he?"

The doctor sighed and pulled off his gloves. "It was a very difficult surgery," he started quietly. "The bullets in his shoulder and chest were really jammed in there, it was a little difficult to get them out in one piece. The bullet in his stomach caused the most damage. There was a lot of bleeding and it took a long time for us to stop it. We lost him twice…but we were able to resuscitate him." The doctor took a moment to look at everyone in the team. "He's in recovery right now in the ICU. He's very weak, and will be for several days. After he's awake though, it will be ok to transport him back home to another hospital. I imagine it would be good for him to be close to home."

Hotch nodded. "That's a good idea. Are we able to see him right now?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, but he may not wake up for a while. He's heavily sedated."

Hotch nodded and thanked the doctor. He turned to look at the rest of the team. Their expressions were a combination of sadness and relief. Derek looked the saddest of all, which was understandable. "Ok, I don't think we should all go in at once. Morgan will definitely go first."

Derek nodded slowly as the team followed the doctor to the ICU. They stopped outside Spencer's room. Derek sighed and looked at Hotch. "I'm ready," he said quietly. He slowly pushed open the door and entered the room. He immediately needed to use the wall for support when he saw Spencer.

Spencer looked small and frail in the bed, and he was nearly as white as the sheets. An oxygen mask covered most of his face. He was hooked up to several , one of which was connected to a blood bag. His injured arm was in a sling, and Derek could see the many bandages that covered his abdomen through his thin hospital shirt. The many beeping, flashing machines looked intimidating.

Derek slowly approached the bed, relieved when he saw that Spencer's chest was actually rising and falling. He sat down in a chair, which he had pulled up to the bedside. He gently took Spencer's hand in his own and squeezed it. "Spencer," he barely whispered, as if afraid he would wake him. He swallowed hard and looked down. "I love you so much…I need you to be ok so I can take you home. I love you." He looked up as tears began to stream down his face. His body shook with silent sobs. "Spencer…Spencer, please be ok…I love you."

"Morgan, are you ok?" Hotch asked as he entered the room. He frowned when he looked over Spencer, suddenly understanding why Derek was so upset. He approached the bed and put his hand on Derek's shoulder. He wasn't quite sure what to say, so he remained silent.

"Hotch this is my fault," Derek said. He wiped at his tears with his free hand. "He shouldn't be in here like this."

"Morgan…this was an accident," Hotch said quietly. He couldn't tear his eyes from Spencer's form. "You take as much time as you need, ok?"

"Thanks," Derek said as Hotch backed out the door, no doubt to report Spencer's condition to the rest of the team. He leaned over and kissed Spencer's forehead. "I love you, Spencer. I'm going to be right here when you wale up. I promise."

**TBC**

**Ok, so Spencer is still alive as I promised. But I think I have some twists up my sleeve…review please?**


	10. CONSCIOUS

**Sorry for the wait on updating, I was preoccupied the last few days. Here be the next chapter! Thanks to all those who have been reviewing!**

**CONSCIOUS **

Derek sighed and looked over Spencer's still sleeping form. Three days had passed and Spencer still wasn't awake. _He must be really sedated, he hasn't even moved. _He reached over and took his hand in his. "Hey, baby," he said quietly. "I love you, please wake up soon." He was the only one there to be with Spencer, the rest of the team had to fly back to Quantico for another case. Hotch was supposed to fly out the next day to speak to the doctor about transferring Spencer back home as well.

In the meantime Derek had been doing everything he could think of to make Spencer comfortable. He would fluff the pillows, adjust the covers, and make sure it was warm enough in the room. And every time there was a nurse in the room he would question her about Spencer's condition. He was glad they didn't seem to mind answering all his questions. At one point Derek even dared to go to the cafeteria to get some food for himself. Of course he felt bad for leaving Spencer alone.

Derek didn't care to do much else except sit there and watch over Spencer. He was pleased to see that he was getting some of his color back and seemed to be breathing a little easier. He gently brushed some hair out of Spencer's face and cupped his cheek in his hand. "I love you, Spencer, I really need you to wake up. I need you here, I can't do this without you." He put his head down for a moment as tears formed in his eyes. "I just want to take you home and help you get better. I…I have so much to tell you about how sorry I am about the way I acted. I need you know that I never want to be without you." He wiped away some tears, then gently placed his hand on Spencer's chest. It relieved him a little to be able to feel Spencer's heart beating. "Emily said she was going to help me bring all your stuff back to the apartment, so that means you have to wake up and come home with me." He was about to continue when a nurse walked in.

"Hello, Derek," the nurse said happily.

"Hello, Anne," Derek said. Given how much time he has spent in Spencer's room, he was now on a first name basis with at least half of the nurses on the floor. "Do you need me to move?"

"Just for a moment, sweetie. You can sit in that chair right over there." Anne waited for Derek to move before going to check all the machines and Spencer's vitals. "He seem to be recovering rather quickly," she said, glancing over to Derek. "That's very good. His heart rate is back to normal, and he doesn't need any more blood transfusions. I'd say he should be waking up pretty soon, by the end of the day at least."

"Really?" Derek asked hopefully.

"It looks like it," Anne said cheerfully. She turned back to Derek. "You said another agent would be stopping by within the next day or so?"

"Yeah, Aaron Hotchner," Derek said, standing once he realized Anne was done. "He's going to speak to the doctor about transferring Spencer back home."

Anne nodded and looked over Spencer's form. "He should be ok to move within the next two days. I'm assuming you're taking him by plane?"

Derek nodded. "Hotch was going to see if he could fix up the private jet to haul all the medical equipment. Spencer would be more comfortable."

"Ok. Well, I'll be heading out now; I'll be back later to check on Spencer once again. Tell Agent Hotchner I said hello."

"I will, thank you," Derek said, watching Anne leave the room with her clipboard. He took his seat next to the bed again and took Spencer's hand back in his own. "Did you hear that, Pretty Boy? She said you're getting better, you'll be able to come home soon." His reply was the sound of Spencer's oxygen machine and the beeping of the heart monitor next to him. Derek leaned over and gently kissed Spencer's forehead. "I love you, baby. I'm going to be right here when you wake up."

_**Later on…7 PM…**_

"Yeah, the nurse said he is getting better pretty fast," Derek said on the phone. He had called to update the others on Spencer's condition.

_"That's great!" _He heard Garcia's voice on the other end of the line. The speakerphone was on, so everyone could hear Derek talking.

_"So it will be ok to bring him back here then?" _JJ asked. She was very glad to know that Spencer was getting better and couldn't wait for him to return home. _"Henry will be pretty excited to see him, I promised him." _

Derek smiled at that comment. He had seen Spencer with Henry before, and he had to admit that they were too adorable together. "I'll let him know that when he wakes up."

_"I'll fly out there first thing in the morning, Morgan," _Hotch's voice came over the phone. _"I'm pretty sure we'll be able to bring him back on the jet."_

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then, Hotch," Derek said. He said his good-byes to the rest of the team and hung up the phone. Sighing, he went back to the bedside again. He was exhausted, so he decided to try and take a nap in the chair. As he drifted off he began to think about the good and bad times he had with Spencer. Like the first time Spencer had made dinner at his apartment.

_"Derek, what are you laughing at?!" Spencer demanded. He was standing in the kitchen doorway, an apron wrapped around his skinny body and a spatula in his right hand. "What is so funny?"_

_ "You! In that outfit!" Derek said. He was nearly rolling on the floor he was laughing so hard. "I've never…seen you in…an APRON before!" He started choking due of his excessive laughter._

_ "Serves you right," Spencer muttered, retreating to the kitchen. Of course this only made Derek laugh harder._

Derek smiled at the memory. He also remembered that that apron had come into play in the bedroom later that night. He also remembered the time he found Spencer by the lake after a rough case.

_Derek walked slowly down the hill towards Spencer. He knew the younger man had been extremely upset about the case they had just finished. He was also worried Spencer had been sitting by the lake for a good two hours, even though it was raining lightly. He finally reached him. "Spence?"_

_ Spencer looked up at Derek. His eyes we red from crying and his damp hair was sticking to his face. He was nearly soaked from the rain and he was shivering lightly. "Hey," he said quietly._

_ "You look like a drowned rat, Spence, you have to be freezing," Derek said. He took off his dry coat and put it over Spencer's shoulders. _

_ "Thank you," Spencer said, jut as quiet as he had been before._

_ "You wanna talk about it?"_

_ "No." Spencer looked ahead for several moments before looking back to Derek. He suddenly reached up for him, his eyes filling with fresh tears._

_ Derek quickly pulled him to his feet and wrapped his arms tightly around him. He frowned when Spencer began to sob against his shoulder. "Pretty Boy, it's ok, I'm here."_

_ "It shouldn't have happened! Not to that little boy!" Spencer sobbed. "He…he looked like Henry. JJ…she got really upset too." He pulled back and wiped his tears. "I'm sorry."_

_ "Hey, babe, don't apologize," Derek said, pushing some hair out of Spencer's face. "It's over now, we got the creep who did it." He gently kissed Spencer. "Come on, let's go home."_

_ Spencer nodded and hugged Derek once more. "I love you."_

"D-Derek?"

Derek's eyes flew open and he sat up straight in his chair. He looked over to see Spencer's beautiful brown eyes staring at him. "Pretty Boy?"

"Y-You're…here," Spencer said weakly. He closed his eyes and swallowed, making a face when he did. He opened his eyes again and looked back at Derek. "You're here."

"Of course, baby," Derek said, leaning over and taking Spencer's hand. "I wouldn't be anywhere else right now. How do you feel?"

"Sore," Spencer said. He tried to sit up, then cringed and made a face. "Very…sore." He leaned back again and put his hand on his stomach.

"I'll get a nurse, ok?" Derek stood up and began to walk toward the door."

"No," Spencer started, trying to move his arm. "D-Don't…leave me."

"Ok, I won't," Derek said, going back to the bedside. He pushed the call nurse button, something he should have thought of first. He took Spencer's hand again. "You really scared me, Spence. I thought I was going to lose you back there." He was about to continue when the nurse named Anne came in.

"Oh, Spencer, you're up," Anne said, a small smile forming on her face. "I'll go get the doctor so he can check you over." She quickly exited the room again.

Spencer slowly turned his head to look at Derek again. "Where's…my m-mom?"

Derek frowned, his hold on Spencer's hand tightening. "She was released from here few days ago. Hotch had to shoot her in the arm to get her to drop that gun. They have her in a ward right now."

Spencer frowned slightly. "I c-can't…see her?"

"They don't think it's a good idea right now, babe, not yet." He leaned over and kissed Spencer's cheek, making the other man smile slightly. "I've missed you, I have so much to tell you."

"I've…missed you…t-too." Spencer coughed lightly, cringing when he did. "I love…you."

"I love you too," Derek whispered. He gently ran his hand through Spencer's hair, looking up when the doctor entered.

"Well, look who's back," the doctor said, smiling down at Spencer. "I'm just going to check and make sure everything is running smoothly and then I'll let you rest. Do you feel like eating anything, Dr. Reid?"

"Not…yet," Spencer said quietly.

The doctor nodded. "Sounds like you could use some water though, Anne can bring you some when we're all done here." The doctor quickly checked over Spencer and the machines around him, adjusting something on the iv stand. He confirmed that everything was looking good, then looked down to Derek. "I received a phone call from an Agent Hotchner, he said he will be here tomorrow to discuss plans for transporting Dr. Reid back to Quantico."

"Ok, thank you, doctor," Derek said as the doctor turned to leave. He smiled when Anne came back with a cup of water and a straw for Spencer. After the nurse had left, he noticed Spencer trying to get to the cup of water. "Let me help you, Spence." He held the cup up to Spencer's mouth and waited for the younger man to take a few sips. Once Spencer was done, he set the cup back down on the table. "Better?"

Spencer nodded slowly. "Much." He peered over to the table to see a sparkly pink "get well" card sitting there. "What the…hell is…that?"

Derek cracked a smile and looked at the card. "It's from the girls on the team, they thought it would be cute. You should have seen the faces Hotch and Rossi made when they signed it."

Spencer smiled. "I can…imagine."

"I think Garcia colored you a picture too," Derek said, laughing a little when Spencer made a face. He reached over and took Spencer's hand again. "I'm so glad you're back."

Spencer smiled again, this time a little brighter. "Me too." He sighed with content when Derek lightly brushed is cheek with his hand. "I…thought you…h-hated me for…a while."

Derek frowned. "I only hated myself for what I did to you. I shouldn't have overreacted like that. I shouldn't have hit you and I certainly shouldn't have kicked you out. I regretted it so much." He looked down momentarily. "It was hell sleeping in bed without you that night. I felt so…alone. I can only imagine how I made you feel."

"It's…over now, D-Derek," Spencer said quietly. "You're here and…I l-love you."

Derek smiled and very gently he pulled Spencer into a small hug. "I love you too, Spence."

**TBC**

**So, remember those twists I mentioned that are hiding up my sleeve? I'm thinking one of them might be revealed in the next chapter…review, please! **


	11. HOME

**I'm back! Sorry for the wait, I was moving stuff back into my apartment at school for the start of my 4****th**** semester. Crazy how fast it goes. So here is the next chapter, thanks to all those who have been reviewing!**

**HOME **

Derek walked around the hospital room and got Spencer's things together. Hotch would be there in a few hours and they were preparing to fly Spencer back to Quantico so he could recover in a hospital closer to home. As he was packing up some books and clothes, he glanced over at Spencer. He was concerned to see his young lover simply poking at his jello instead of eating it. "What's wrong, Spence? You're usually all over jello like Scooby on a Scooby Snack."

Spencer gave Derek a weird look, then returned his gaze to the jello. "I don't really feel like eating," he said quietly, putting the spoon down and staring at it.

Derek frowned and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Is something wrong?"

Spencer sighed and looked up at Derek. "I'm just…worried about my mom."

Derek nodded. "Yeah, I understand. Look, I'm sure they're taking good care of her. Her arm was healed up pretty good when she was discharged."

"I know," Spencer said, leaning back. "I just hope she's ok. She must be terrified that she can't see me…does she even know I'm still alive?"

"They informed her after you woke up yesterday," Derek said. He took Spencer's hand and squeezed it. "Everything is going to be ok, babe. Once you're all better they said they could fly your mother out to see you."

"But she'll have to be under close supervision," Spencer said sadly. "I won't get to be alone with her."

"Maybe, maybe not," Derek said. "Spence, look at me." He gently tilted Spencer's chin up so he could see him. "I promise you, everything will be ok."

Spencer nodded. "Will you hold me?" he asked quietly.

Derek smiled lightly and seated himself on the bed next to Spencer, making sure not to bump him and bother his injuries. He gently took him in his arms and leaned him against him. He rested Spencer's head on his chest and gently ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair. "I love you, Pretty Boy. I can't tell you that enough times."

"I love you too," Spencer returned quietly. He snuggled deeper into Derek, shivering slightly.

"Are you cold, babe?" Derek asked. When Spencer nodded he pulled the covers up over his thin frame and held him a little closer. "Just rest now, I'll wake you up when Hotch gets here."

"Ok," Spencer said quietly. He was asleep in no time.

Derek peered down at Spencer's sleeping form curled up against him. He felt the strong need to protect him from everything. He gently tightened his hold and kissed Spencer's forehead. He smiled lightly when the younger man mumbled in his sleep. "I'm here, Pretty Boy. I'm not going anywhere."

* * * * * * * * *

Hotch walked down the hall and into Spencer's room. He stopped when he noticed the two sleeping men on the bed, Spencer curled into Derek and half hidden under the covers. He had to smile. _Garcia would be all over this if she were here. _He fixed his gaze on Derek for a moment, noticing how protectively he held Spencer close to him. His thought was interrupted when Derek woke up. "Morgan."

"Hey, Hotch," Derek said quietly. He looked down at Spencer, noticing he was still sleeping. "Did you talk to the doctors?"

"Yeah, they said he is ok to be transferred," Hotch said, stepping closer to the bed. "The jet is ready, and they already called the hospital back home to let them know everything Reid will need." He looked briefly at Spencer, then at the uneaten tray of food. "He's not eating?"

Derek frowned and shook his head. "He's worried about Diane."

Hotch frowned. "I see. I spoke with her today via phone. She's very distressed."

"What did you tell her?" Derek asked, absentmindedly playing with some of Spencer's hair.

"I told her Reid is doing fine, that he will transported to a hospital closer to home today. She can see him when he's fully recovered. She doesn't want to wait of course." Hotch remembered back to the conversation he had with Diane.

_"But Agent Hotchner, I need to see him! I need to know he's ok," Diane Reid pleaded over the phone. "He's my only son, I need to see him!"_

_ "Ms. Reid, I assure you, you will be allowed to see him once he is fully recovered," Hotch said calmly over the phone. "They'll bring you out here so you can see him, but it might be a few weeks."_

_ "I can't wait that long," Diane cried on the other end. "Can I…at least speak to him?"_

_ "Maybe after he gets home."_

Hotch sighed, the jumped slightly when he heard Spencer moan. "Reid?"

Derek looked down at Spencer. "Are you awake, babe?"

"Hotch?" Spencer asked quietly, opening his eyes. He smiled to the best of his ability once he realized it was Hotch. "Hi."

"Hey there, kid," Hotch said, returning the smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Lousy," Spencer said. He tried to sit up, but cringed in pain. "Not…one hundred percent yet."

"You'll get better pretty fast once you're back home," Derek said, helping Spencer into a sitting position.

"Reid, we're ready to transport you back home on the jet," Hotch said. "If all of your things are together I'll go speak to the doctor about your discharge papers."

"Thanks, Hotch," Spencer said as the older agent left the room. He looked back up at Derek. "Derek?"

Derek smiled down at Spencer. "Yeah?"

Spencer blushed lightly. "Can I take jello with me?"

Derek laughed lightly before looking at Spencer. "I already stashed some jello cups in your bag," he said.

Spencer smiled up at him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Derek said. He gently pulled Spencer towards him and kissed him. He was overjoyed that he would be getting to take Spencer home.

* * * * * * * *

Spencer shifted lightly, and then opened his eyes. He was on the private jet, still in his hospital bed. He must have fallen asleep back at the hospital. Making sure that the bed was properly anchored to the floor, he decided to try and sit up. He got about halfway before a splitting pain ripped through his stomach. "Aaeh," he moaned, clutching his stomach and leaning back. He looked over when Derek suddenly popped around the corner.

"You, ok, Spencer?" Derek asked in concern. He looked over Spencer and realized he was holding his stomach. "Do you feel sick?"

"No," Spencer said, shaking his head. "It still…hurts when I try to sit up." He looked up at Derek. "Will you help me?"

"Of course, babe," Derek said, reaching down and gently picking up Spencer and putting him in a sitting position. "Are you sure you're ok? Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm ok now," Spencer said, leaning back into the pillows. He still had his arm around his stomach. "I just want to get better and be back home in our bed."

Derek smiled and lightly brushed Spencer's cheek. "You can spend all the time in bed that you want, Pretty Boy. Once you're out of the hospital, Hotch is giving us both two weeks off. That way I can stay home and help you recover."

Spencer smiled lightly. "I'd like that."

Derek leaned over and kissed him, running his hand through his hair as he did so. "I love, Spencer. We should be home soon. Hotch said we should be landing in about forty minutes."

"That soon?" Spencer asked. "How long was I out?"

"Quite a bit," Derek said. "You fell asleep in my arms back at the hospital after Hotch went to get your discharge papers." He touched Spencer's cheek again. He frowned slightly and moved his hand up to Spencer's forehead. "Baby, you're really warm."

"I feel fine," Spencer said truthfully. "Really, I do. Maybe it's just because I'm under all these sheets."

"Yeah, I guess," Derek said, still frowning. "I wish you didn't get cold so easily. It would make me worry less."

Spencer looked away for a moment, pretending to observe something. "Well, maybe you should get under the sheets with me. That way our body heat could combine between the two of us and I'd be pretty warm. I might not even need all these sheets after that." He looked at Derek matter-of-factly. "Just sayin."

Derek's frown flipped into a smile. "You're mind's in the gutter, Pretty Boy. We'll have enough time under the sheets once you're all better, I promise."

Spencer smiled brightly. "Ok."

Derek smiled once more and stood up. "I'm going to make myself some coffee. I'll get you some water and one of those jello cups."

"Thanks!" Spencer called as Derek disappeared around the corner. He leaned back and sighed. The truth was, he actually did feel a little sick, and he felt like he could have a small fever. He didn't want to tell Derek because he didn't want him to worry. _He's done so much for me already, he doesn't need to worry about me getting a fever or something. I'm sure it'll pass. _He looked back up and smiled when Derek came back with his water and jello. "Hey, blue, my favorite."

Derek grinned and sat down with his coffee. He watched Spencer eat his jello while he thought to himself. He was worried that Spencer seemed feverish. _He would tell me if he was sick, wouldn't he? I hope he's not hiding something so I don't worry more about him. _He looked up to see an empty jello cup sitting in Spencer's lap. "Damn, kid, you ate that fast."

Spencer smiled, looking up suddenly when Hotch watched around the corner. "Hi, Hotch."

"Reid, good to see you up," Hotch said. "We should be landing shortly. An ambulance will be waiting to take you to the hospital."

"Ok," Spencer said as Hotch walked back to his seat. He looked up at Derek again. "It's good to be home again."

Derek smiled and kissed him. "It's good to have you home."

**TBC**

**It's my birthday, reviews would make great presents. Haha! Twisty twist in the next chapter! Perhaps I'll make it a cliff hanger…**


	12. UNEXPECTED

**Next chapter is here! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and left birthday wishes too, that was sweet. Ready for that twist and cliffy I mentioned?**

**UNEXPECTED**

Spence had fallen asleep again on the way to the hospital, but he woke up once he was wheeled into the building. He looked around and saw the rest of the team standing in the waiting area, clearly excited to see him. He smiled back as he was wheeled past them. "Hi, guys."

"Hey," Emily said, following the gurney and gently touching his arm. "We missed you."

"We'll be in to see you once you're situated in your room," Garcia chimed in, popping up behind Emily.

"Ok," Spencer said as the two women stopped walking and watched as he was wheeled down another hallway.

"Your room is right down here, Dr. Reid," the nurse said, smiling down at him. "We already received all your information from the other hospital. We should be ale to release you in about a week. Your arm needs to stay in that sling for about two more weeks though as a safety precaution, ok?"

"Yes, thank you," Spencer said as he was wheeled into the new room.

Once everything was situated and the doctor had come in to check him over, the rest of the team was allowed to come in. They all filed into the room and took turns greeting Spencer with either a hug or a handshake.

"I was so worried about you," JJ said as she hugged him closely. "I'm glad you're home, I missed you."

"I missed you too," Spencer said, looking up at her. "How is Henry?"

JJ smiled "Excited to see you," she replied. "I told him I would bring him by in a few days."

"That sounds good," Spencer said. He looked up and smiled when Derek finally entered the room.

"Hey, Pretty Boy," Derek said, approaching the bed. He looked over Spencer, noticing that he seemed to look better than he did on the plane, less feverish. He sat down next to the bed and stared at him. "How do you feel?"

"Pretty good," Spencer answered, looking at him. He was so glad that Derek was there with him, after all they had been through in the past couple of weeks.

The team fell to talking for the next forty minutes about random things. They told Spencer about the unsub they had caught in Vegas, and they told him about their most recent case. Then they discussed about how they could come in shifts to spend time with Spencer, and that Derek would be spending a majority of his time there, of course.

It was starting to get a little late and the rest of the team decided they needed to be getting home. They each once again either shook Spencer's hand or gave him a hug.

"If you get bored with the weird stuff this hospital calls food, you give me a call," Garcia said, giving Spencer a hug. "I'll sneak you in some of those hot wings I was talking about.

"I'll do that," Spencer said with a laugh. He watched as everyone left, Derek and Hotch the only remaining people.

"You need anything, call me ok?" Hotch said.

"Ok," Spencer said. He reached up to shake Hotch's hand, surprised slightly when the man leaned down and hugged him instead.

Derek waited until Hotch had left the room to return his gaze to Spencer. "You looked shocked."

"I wasn't expecting him to hug me," Spencer said, looking down.

"He feels guilty about using that megaphone to get your mother's attention," Derek said quietly. "He thinks that's what startled her into shooting you. He didn't say anything to me about it, but I overheard him mention it to Emily earlier on the way in."

Spencer frowned. "It wasn't his fault. I was the one who was trying to get the gun off of her. I should have stopped trying after she shot me the first time." He glanced down at his shoulder. "If I hadn't tried to go for the gun the second time, she might not have shot me again. I think I scared her or something."

Derek took Spencer's hand in his. "It's all past now, Spencer," he said calmly. "It was an accident, everybody is ok now. You're going to get better and everything will go back to normal."

Spencer nodded slowly and looked at Derek. "I just wished none of this had happened."

"Me too, babe," Derek said, squeezing Spencer's hand. _Me too._

* * * * * * * * * *

Derek woke up to the sound of Spencer whimpering. He quickly sat up in his chair and looked over at the younger man. He noticed a pained expression on his face and he was twitching slightly. "Spencer? Pretty Boy, wake up," he said, gently shaking Spencer.

Spencer's eyes shot open and he gasped. He looked around before spotting Derek. "D-Derek," he cried.

"Hey, babe, what happened?" Derek said, concerned. He sat down on the edge of Spencer's bed and gently pulled him closer to him. "Did you have another nightmare or something?"

"I...I don't know," Spencer said, clinging to Derek's arm. "I don't think so. I…I was in pain."

Derek frowned, even more concerned now. He immediately put his hand on Spencer's forehead again. "Spencer, you're burning up again, you have a fever. Are you sure you're not feeling sick?"

Spencer looked up at him in mild fright. "I don't know, Derek," he said quietly. "I don't…feel right."

"Ok, I'm going to get a nurse," Derek said. He stood up, leaning over to kiss Spencer quickly. "I'll be right back, ok?"

Spencer nodded as Derek rushed out of the room. A sharp pain suddenly shot through his stomach. "Aeh, ow," Spencer whimpered, putting his hand on stomach. _What's happening? _He breathed deeply, but the pain would not subside. He was on the verge of tears when Derek reappeared with a nurse.

"Dr Reid, are you feeling discomfort?" the nurse asked as she quickly checked his temperature. She frowned when Spencer nodded. She took the thermometer out of his mouth and looked at it. "You sure have a fever, 101.3. I'm going to get the doctor, I'll be right back."

Derek swallowed hard as the nurse left the room quickly. He knew this wasn't good. He looked over at Spencer, shocked to see him practically on his side clutching his stomach, a look of agony across his face. "Pretty Boy, what's wrong?"

"I…I can't," Spencer choked out. "Derek…it HURTS!" He nearly doubled over on the bed. "OW!"

Derek leaped to his feet and leaned over Spencer, wrapping his arms around him. "Spence, calm down, you're going to be ok," he said frantically. "Baby?"

Spencer rolled onto his back again, hissing in pain. "D-Derek," he cried lightly. "H-Help…me." He squeezed his eyes shut in pain. He suddenly arched his back and then fell back down to the bed, unconscious."

"SPENCER!" Derek yelled, frantically shaking him. "NO!" He looked around wildly when the doctor and nurse came running into the room. "Help him, please!"

The doctor rushed to Spencer's side and immediately began giving the nurse orders. "We need to get back into ER, now!" He looked to the side when the heart monitor started beeping like crazy. "Dammit, we're losing him!"

Derek stared in silent terror as Spencer flatlined.

**TBC**

**Told you it would be a cliffy. Reviews make the next chapter come quicker! **


	13. INFECTION

**Wow, I got a whole bunch of reviews pretty quick from that last chapter! That was part one of the twist, you'll see in this chapter why Spencer had a fever and flatlined. R&R!**

INFECTION

All Derek could do was panic. After Spencer flatlined in his room, the doctor and nurse rushed him out of the room as more doctors came running down the hall. They quickly pushed the bed down the hall, the main doctor calling orders to the others. Derek jogged alongside the gurney, string down at Spencer's motionless body. He stopped once the doctors rushed him into the ER, the doors closing behind them.

Derek had immediately called Hotch and the others to tell them what happened. He was on the verge of a panic attack and tears were streaming down his face. _What happened?! Why is this happening, Spencer was supposed to be ok! Please, God, let him be ok! _He finally slid down the wall into a sitting position, his body shaking with silent sobs. "Please, Spence...please be ok," he cried to himself.

About twenty minutes later the rest of the team came running into the waiting area. Derek looked up from the floor, his eyes completely red from crying. "Guys."

"Derek, what happened?" JJ asked quickly, coming over and kneeling down in front of him. "What happened, where is Spencer?"

"He's…he's still in the ER," Derek said through his tears. "He flatlined JJ…I don't know what happened. He…he said he was in pain and then…then…" He shook his head and covered his face with his hands. "I don't know what to do, I can't take this. He can't die!"

"He won't, Derek, he'll be ok," Emily said, joining JJ by Derek's side. "The doctors will figure out what's wrong and he'll be ok."

"I hope so," Derek said sadly, staring at the doors of the ER. He peered up at Hotch, who was bothering any nurse or doctor he could find to see if they knew anything about Spencer.

"Nothing," Hotch said as he approached the group. "How long has he been in there?"

"At least a half an hour," Derek said, sniffling. He smiled lightly when Emily handed him a tissue. "I thought…they would have told me something by now."

Hotch nodded and sighed. He took a seat in one of the chairs as the two women helped Derek up off the ground and over to another seat. "He was doing well when he was being transported back here."

"He had a fever," Derek said. "The nurse said it was over a hundred. What could have possibly caused that?" He wiped his eyes and looked over at Hotch.

Hotch remained silent and stared at the floor. He still blamed himself for Spencer even being in the hospital at all. It was his idea to use the megaphone back at the home, even though Derek had told him it was a bad idea. He was certain that it was his fault that Diane had freaked out and shot Spencer.

Emily must have sensed what Hotch was thinking about, because she came and sat down next to him. "Hotch, you have to stop blaming yourself," she said quietly, putting her hand on his shoulder. "This wasn't your fault."

"I shouldn't have tried to get Diane's attention like that," Hotch said, guilt lacing his voice. He looked over at Emily. "If we had just gone in there the right way, this might not have happened. Reid would be ok and-"

"Hotch, she would have been scared either way," Emily interjected. "She might have shot him in front of us…that's not something I would want to see." She shivered slightly at the thought of Spencer being gunned down in front of her, in front of Derek. "Please, you have to forgive yourself and move on, for Reid. He wouldn't want you to feel guilty."

Hotch was about to say something when the ER doors opened and Spencer's doctor stepped out. Before he could even blink, Derek was on his feet and across the room. He stood as well and followed the other agent over. "Doctor?"

"Please tell us he's ok," Derek said desperately.

The doctor nodded to the two men. "Dr. Reid is going to be just fine," he said calmly. "It appears there was an infection in the wound in his stomach, which was causing him the severe discomfort. The wound was cleaned thoroughly and added some new medication to Dr. Reid's iv that should help clear up anything remaining. It will also help to prevent a new infection from starting."

"Is that what caused his fever, and the reason he flatlined?" Hotch asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," the doctor added. "We were able to resuscitate him quickly though. The fever is gone as well."

Derek sighed in relief. "Can I see him?"

"If you wish," the doctor said. "We'll be moving him back to his room if you can wait about ten minutes."

"Ok," Derek said as the doctor walked back into the ER. He stood there momentarily, then suddenly crumbled to the ground.

"Morgan," Hotch said in surprise, catching the agent before he hit the ground. He quickly set him in a chair and steadied him. "Morgan, are you ok?"

Derek nodded and sat up in his chair. "Yeah, I…I was just a little worried."

Hotch sighed and looked at the other man. He couldn't imagine the pain Derek was going through right now, seeing Reid in this condition. He put his hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be ok, Morgan, he's going to be ok."

Derek nodded and looked at the floor. He looked up again once the ER doors opened, the doctors emerging with Spencer's bed. He stood and walked over, following the bed down the hall. He looked down at Spencer, who was once again sleeping. The agonized look was gone from his face, replaced by one of peaceful slumber. He watched as the bed was placed back in the room and the machines were checked. Once the doctors left he approached the bed and sat down on the edge. He gently cupped Spencer's cheek in his hand, relieved to see that the fever was gone. "Pretty Boy," he whispered.

"Morgan?" Hotch asked quietly, peering around the corner of the door. "Can we come in?"

Derek nodded and looked back down at Spencer as the rest of the team quietly filed into the room. "He's sleeping again."

"That whole experience before probably weakened him a little," Emily said, looking down at Spencer. She gently pushed back some hair from his face and then rested her hand on his shoulder. "He needs to rest for a while."

"I don't want to leave," JJ said, staring at Spencer. "Not after that."

"Emily is right though," Rossi said. "Reid needs his rest. I'm sure we can all visit him again in the morning when he is awake."

Hotch nodded in agreement and looked at Derek, noticing how intent the man was on Spencer. "Morgan?"

Derek looked over at him briefly. "I should have seen this coming, Hotch," he said sadly. "He had a fever back in Vegas, but he kept telling me he was fine. I should have done something about it then."

"Yes, but he wasn't experiencing the pain then," Hotch said, trying to comfort the other man. "That would have been more noticeable. The infection didn't really take effect until tonight." He waited a moment for Derek to absorb this information before he spoke again. "We're going to go now, leave you two alone. Call me in the morning when he wakes up to let me know how things are, ok?"

Derek nodded and watched the rest of the team leave the room. It was silent afterwards except for the beeping of the machines that Spencer was connected to. He looked back down at the younger man, wishing he would wake up again soon. He gently touched Spencer's cheek, and then he leaned down and kissed him. "I need you to be ok, Pretty Boy," he whispered. He sat up when Spencer's eyelids fluttered slightly. "Spence?"

Spencer made a small moaning sound in his sleep, but did not open his eyes. "Derek," he barely whispered. He fell silent again and remained still on the bed.

Derek smiled slightly at the mention of his name. He gently took Spencer's hand and held it tightly. "I'm gonna be right here when you wake, baby. I promise I won't go anywhere. I'm gonna help you get better." He took his usual spot in the chair next to the bed, continuing to hold Spencer's hand. "I love you, Spencer."

"Love…you," Spencer once again whispered in his sleep.

Derek intently watched Spencer sleep. He wondered if he could actually here him talking to him, if that was the reason he was talking in his sleep. _I guess that means he knows I'm here with him, that I didn't abandon him or something. _He put his head down on the bed close to Spencer's and quickly drifted off to sleep.

**TBC**

**Ok, so our dear Spencer is still alive, and that was part two of the twist. I don't think I have any more up my sleeve. I have a few more chapters left before the end of the story. Reviews are cool!**


	14. AWAKE

**AWAKE **

Derek paced around the room, a can of coke in his hand. He kept looking over at Spencer, who was still asleep after last night's episode. Derek hadn't gotten much sleep himself, he kept checking on Spencer to make sire that he was actually ok and the fever was gone. He checked his watch, it was 10AM. Hotch had already called him twice to see if Spencer had woken up yet. He finally went over and sat on the edge of the bed again. He put his hand on Spencer's forehead, checking for the twentieth time that morning that there was no fever. "When are you going to wake up, Pretty Boy?" he asked quietly. He was startled when his phone rang. It was Hotch again. "He's not up yet, Hotch," he said as he answered the phone.

_"Still?" _Hotch's voice answered over the phone.

"No, I promise I'll call once he does wake up," Derek said. "Have you heard anything about Diane?"

_"Yeah, I got a call from the ward she's in," _Hotch answered. _"They said they can fly her out here once Reid is out of the hospital. It might upset her more if she sees him when he's still in the hospital."_

"Yeah, I understand," Derek said. He looked down at Spencer, who had shifted slightly. "Hey, look I'll call you back later." He hung up and leaned closer to Spencer. "Spence? You up?"

Spencer made a small noise and shifted again, turning his head to the side. His eyelids fluttered, then opened. He looked up at Derek for a moment. "What…happened?"

Derek gave him a small smile, relieved to see him awake. "You had an infection. You got a fever from it and you were in pain. You…you flatlined for a few minutes but they brought you back." Derek swallowed before continuing. "You're ok now though, your fever is gone and everything."

Spencer gazed up at him for another moment or so before trying to move. He smiled a little when Derek helped him sit up. "Are…you ok?"

"Yeah," Derek said quietly. "I thought I lost you again. I was so scared." He looked up when he felt Spencer's hand on his cheek. "I love you, Spencer."

"I love you too, Derek," Spencer said. He reached down and took Derek's hand in his. "Thank you for staying with me. I couldn't have gotten through this without you."

"I wouldn't have let you go through it alone," Derek said, leaning closer to Spencer. "You mean the world to me, there is no way I was going to leave you by yourself." He kissed Spencer, holding him close as he did so.

Once the kiss was over, Spencer leaned into Derek and rested his head on his shoulder. "They're going to make me stay here longer, aren't they? After what happened?"

"Maybe not," Derek said hopefully. "We'll have to talk to the doctors about it though. I also told Hotch I'd call him when you woke up." He took out his cell phone. "You wanna say hi?"

Spencer smiled and took the phone from Derek. He dialed Hotch's number and waited for the man to answer.

_"Hotchner," _Hotch answered quickly.

"Hi, Hotch," Spencer said with a small smile. He was glad to hear his voice again.

_"Reid? You're up, how do you feel?" _Hotch said, his tone lightening a little.

"I feel fine," Spencer said. "A lot better, actually."

_"That's good. Are you up for visitors? The girls are excited to see you."_

"Yeah, that would be great," Spencer said. "Thanks, Hotch."

_"No problem. We'll be there in a little while."_

Spencer smiled and ended the call. He gave the phone back to Derek and then leaned into him again. "They're coming to visit."

Derek smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to get the doctor to look at you, then I' want to spend some time with you before the others get here."

"Ok," Spencer said as Derek left to get a doctor. He leaned back in the pillows and sighed. _I'm so lucky to have you, Derek."_

* * *

The team arrived about an hour later. They were excited and happy to see that Spencer was sitting up waiting for them. They gave him hugs, and the girls kissed him on the cheek.

"I snuck this in for you," Garcia said cheerfully, handing Spencer a box.

Spencer opened it to see a cupcake with sprinkles peeking out at him. "Thanks! I'll be skipping down the hall after I eat this."

"Don't try any crazy stunts just yet," Emily said, stealing Derek's usual seat by the bed. "Plus I think you would look a little funny skipping around in a hospital gown and an arm sling."

Spencer smiled brightly at her and set the box on the table next to the bed, deciding to save it for later so he wouldn't get icing all over himself. "So have there been any new cases?"

Rossi smiled a little from across the room. "Typical Reid. You're in the hospital and you're still worried about work."

Spencer smiled again. "Just wondering how much paperwork I'm going to have to catch up on when I get back."

"Absolutely none," JJ said. "We've been putting it all on Emily's desk."

Spencer smiled and laughed along when Emily turned around and glared at everyone. "I guess they fooled you."

"I thought I was just forgetting to put the folders away," Emily said.

"Nothing that hasn't happened to me before," Spencer said, smiling when everyone tried to act like they didn't know what he was talking about. He sighed and leaned back in the pillows. "I just wish I was out of this place, I just want to go home."

"We want you to come home too, Spence," JJ said, smiling at him from across the room.

"Of course you'll be off work for a few weeks," Hotch said with a serious tone. "That way you're fully recovered. I'm not sure I want to put you back out in the field immediately either, safety precaution."

Spencer frowned but nodded. He knew he was going to have to take it easy for a while and not put any strain on his body. He remembered the nurse telling him he would also have his arm in the sling still after he was released. "I understand," he said to Hotch.

Everyone talked for a little while and eventually decided it was time for lunch. "We'll get one of the nurses to bring you something, Spence," JJ said.

"Something decent, we promise," Garcia added. "Don't let them see that cupcake."

Spencer smiled and watched all but Derek and Hotch leave the room. He looked at Hotch curiously. "Something wrong, Hotch?"

Hotch hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I wanted to wait a little longer for this, but I should tell you now. I spoke to your mother on the phone the other day, she wants to see you."

Spencer frowned again. "Is she ok?"

"She's almost fully recovered," Hotch said. "She should be able to take her arm out of the sling in a few days." He was silent for a moment. "I told her she could speak to you on the phone if you were feeling up to it."

Spencer nodded. "Yeah, I'd really like that. I need to tell her I'm ok."

"Ok…but there is something I need to tell you first, before you speak to her," Hotch said. He looked over at Derek, who looked back at him in mild confusion. He hadn't told him yet either. "Your mother…they want to put her in a mental hospital. They think they would be able to take better car of her there and make sure nothing like this will ever happen again."

Spencer froze in his spot and simply stared at Hotch. His jaw dropped slightly, but he wasn't sure what to say. He finally swallowed and looked up at him again. "Really? They think she…belongs in a mental hospital?"

Hotch frowned. Spencer looked devastated. Derek looked shocked. He didn't know what to say for a moment, he could only watch Spencer try to force back tears. "I'm sorry, Reid. I wanted you to know before I let you talk to her. That way if she mentioned anything you wouldn't be surprised."

"She already knows?" Spencer asked, sitting up a little straighter in the bed. When Derek approached the bed he grabbed his hand for support. "She…she must be freaking out over this."

Hotch sighed. "She's scared, she really wants to see you. Speaking to her on the phone right now may calm her down a little, if you're up to it."

Spencer nodded and waited for Hotch to pick up the phone on the bedside table and dial a number. He listened as the other man introduced himself and said that he wished to speak to Diane Reid. Spencer tightened his grip on Derek's hand, causing the other man to wrap his arm around him. He swallowed hard when Hotch handed him the phone. "M-Mom?"

_"Spencer?! Sweetie, are you ok?" _Diane sounded frantic on the other line.

Spencer closed his eyes for a moment. "Yeah…yeah, I'm ok, Mom. Are you ok?"

_"No, sweetie. I miss you, I need to see you. I'm so sorry I hurt you, I'll never forgive myself!"_

"No, Mom, please don't blame yourself. It was an accident." Spencer leaned back on the bed. "I miss you too."

_"How could you miss me? After what I did to you, you should hate me."_

"I could never hate you, Mom, don't even think that." Spencer wiped at his eyes as tears formed. He really didn't want to cry in front of the other two men, especially not in front of Hotch. He sighed again to regain control of himself. "I love you, Mom."

_"They want to put me away, Spencer." _Diane sounded scared and sad now. _"I don't want them to put me away. I don't want to be all alone."_

"I know, Mom." Spencer put his head down as a tear slipped down his cheek. He trembled lightly. He was grateful when Derek put his arm around him again. "Mom, when I'm ready to go home, I want to see you, ok?"

_"Of course sweetie."_

Spencer swallowed. He knew the place where his mom was only allowed the phone calls to be so long. He knew he had to go. "Mom, I have to go now, I love you. I'll see you soon, ok?"

_"Ok, sweetheart. I love you."_

"I love you too." He hung up the phone and just stared at it for a moment. He finally burst into tears, leaning into Derek for support. "This isn't fair," he cried over the other man's shoulder.

"I know, baby," Derek said soothingly, rubbing Spencer's back. "I know this is going to be hard, but you're going to get through it. I'm going to be right here with you, so is everybody else, ok?"

Hotch walked over and sat down on the other side of Spencer. He put his hand on the younger man's shoulder, making him look over at him through his tears. "Reid, we're going to help as much as we can. I'll talk to the others about trying to work something out for your mother. That way she won't have to go into a mental hospital, perhaps just somewhere with a little more security and perhaps closer to home."

Spencer smiled sadly at him. "Thank you, Hotch," he said quietly.

Hotch nodded and stood. "I'm going to find the others. I have a feeling they haven't gone far. We'll be back later."

Spencer watched Hotch leave and then looked back up at Derek. "Sorry for crying on your shirt."

Derek smiled a little and wiped the tears off Spencer's face. "As long as I get to hold you, I'm happy." He pulled Spencer closer to him and kissed him. "I just want to see you happy."

Spencer smiled and rested his head on Derek's shoulder. "You make me happy," he said quietly. He was quickly asleep again on his shoulder.

Derek smiled and lay Spencer back down on the bed, covering him with the sheets so he would stay warm. "You make me happy too, Pretty Boy."

**TBC**

**So…you think Hotch can pull some strings and make sure Diane doesn't go into the mental hospital? Review and find out. **


	15. TAKE ME HOME

**Sorry it took a while for this update. We had a massive snowstorm here in PA, and my internet was down for a while. But on a happy note, my college campus has been closed all week, so no classes for me! So…here is the next chapter! Reviews are nice. **

**Oh, and whoever asked me if the team knows about Derek and Spencer's relationship, yes they do know. Sorry if I didn't make that clear earlier, I don't think I did. I think I just made it seem like only Hotch and Emily knew.**

**TAKE ME HOME**

Several days had passed since Spencer's incident with the infection. He was doing much better, and the doctors had said he could be released within the hour. Spencer carefully got himself dressed and got his shoes on while waiting for Derek to come back with his discharge papers. He smiled when the other man entered the room. "Hey."

Derek smiled at Spencer. "Hey, how do you feel?"

"Pretty good, a little sore still," Spencer replied as he finished tying his shoes. He slowly stood up from the chair, cringing lightly when he did. "It's kinda hard to tie my shoes with one arm."

Derek laughed lightly. "You should have waited, I would have helped you." He brought Spencer's jacket over to him and helped him put it on. "You can't be stubborn when I try to help you out the next couple of weeks, ok?"

"I'll try to behave," Spencer said as he carefully put his injured arm through the sleeve of his jacket. He allowed Derek to help him once again to put the sling back in place as well. He turned to Derek and smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem, Pretty Boy," Derek said, kissing Spencer and pulling him into a hug. "Hotch will be here in a few minutes to pick us up and take us home."

Spencer looked at Derek in mild confusion. "But, my stuff-"

"Emily and Rossi brought it all back to the apartment yesterday afternoon," Derek said, putting his own jacket on now. He sighed and looked at Spencer. "I'm really glad you're coming back home."

Spencer smiled lightly. "I wouldn't be anywhere else." He looked over to the door when Hotch walked in, little Jack in tow. "Hi Hotch. Hi there, Jack."

"Hi, Uncle Spencer," Jack said quietly from behind Hotch's leg, causing all the men to smile.

Hotch smiled down at his son and then looked back to the other two men. "Are you two ready to go?"

"Yeah," Derek said, looking over at Spencer once again. He was glad he was finally able to go home. Of course he wouldn't be able to do much for a while, especially with his arm in the sling. He looked back at Hotch. "All of our stuff is ready."

Hotch nodded. "I think the others are back at your apartment, they wanted to make sure you're comfortable and stuff, Reid."

Spencer nodded. "Ok, let's go then." As they turned to leave, he reached for his bag, caught off guard when Derek quickly snatched it up.

"Nope, I'm carrying this," Derek said. He smiled when Spencer blushed, then he wrapped his am around his waist. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Spencer said. "Take me home."

* * *

The ride home was enjoyable. The three men talked, and occasionally Jack chimed in too.

"Uncle Spencer, why is your arm all tied up?" Jack asked, looking at Spencer.

Spencer smiled at the boy. "Well, Jack, I had a little accident and I got a booboo on my shoulder. This is going to help it get all better."

Hotch smiled in his rearview mirror at the conversation going on in the backseat. He knew Spencer was good with kids, he had seen him around Henry multiple times. Also when the team would go out to dinner and he would bring Jack, Spencer always found a way to keep the boy occupied when he started getting fussy. He also remembered the time he came over on his day off to watch Jack after Haley died. He looked over at Derek who was also watching the two over his shoulder. "He would make a great father," Hotch said quietly.

Derek looked over at him and nodded. "Yeah," he said, sitting straight in his seat again.

"How are you two?" Hotch asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"We're good," Derek said, a small smile on his face. "I'm glad everything is fixed, I don't know what I would do without him."

Hotch nodded. He looked in the rearview mirror again. He noticed Jack was asleep in his car seat and Spencer was reading a book, probably not paying attention to the conversation at hand. He looked back over at Derek. "I'm glad you worked it out too."

About ten minutes later, the men pulled up in front of Derek and Spencer's apartment. Hotch and Derek got out of the car. Spencer unhooked the belt on Jack's car seat for Hotch and then got out as well. He smiled when Derek hugged him. "It feels good to be back."

Derek smiled and led Spencer up the stairs. Hotch followed them, a still sleeping Jack in his arms. Derek opened the door and let Spencer go in first. He smiled when the rest of the team all stood up from their spots on the couch and chairs. "Look whose home."

"My baby's back!" Garcia squealed, rushing over to hug Spencer. He looked at Derek over Spencer's shoulder. "Sorry, hun, I'm stealing him."

Derek laughed lightly. "Guess I'm gonna have to share him for a day."

Spencer smiled back at Derek and let Garcia lead him through the room over to the couch. "I missed you guys," he said as he sat down next to Emily.

"We missed you too," Emily said, smiling over at him. She reached over and hugged him tightly. "We were so worried for a while there."

"Yeah, don't scare us like that again," JJ said from across the room.

Spencer looked over at her and realized Will and Henry were there too. "Hey there."

JJ smiled and carried Henry over to him. "Henry missed you too, want to hold him?"

"Sure," Spencer said happily as JJ placed the baby in his lap. He smiled when Henry squealed happily and smiled big at Spencer. "Hey, little guy."

Hotch smiled at this exchange of affection as he sat down in a chair. Emily had taken Jack from him and put him in the spare bedroom so he could nap without disturbance. He watched Spencer bounce Henry up and down in his lap, carefully holding him with one arm. He smiled whenever the little boy smiled.

Emily noticed Hotch watching Spencer and smiled. He approached Derek, who was in the kitchen getting a drink. "He's really good with kids, Derek," she said, motioning to Spencer in the living room. "Do you think you guys might consider adoption?"

Derek raised his eyebrows and leaned back on the counter. "I don't know, he never really mentioned it before. Plus with both of us being at work all the time…I don't know. I think he would like it though."

Emily smiled again. "You should mention it to him some time." She left the kitchen to go and talk to JJ.

Derek sighed and surveyed the scene in front of him. Spencer and Will were chatting about Henry as the boy sat in Spencer lap and grabbed playfully at his hair. Hotch and Rossi were talking about some football game, and the three women were discussing plans for a lunch date. He smiled, he couldn't be happier than he was right now.

* * *

Several hours later, the others had slowly began to leave to go home. JJ and Will had to put Henry to bed, for he kept falling asleep in Spencer's lap.

"I'll see you later this week, ok?" JJ said, giving Spencer a tight hug before she followed Will out the door. "I'll bring you some cookies."

"I'd like that," Spencer said with a smile.

Rossi was the next to leave. He shook Spencer's hand before he left and told him he would stop by later in the week to brief Spencer on the new case. "I thought you might like that, since I know you'll be going crazy without any work to do."

Spencer laughed. "That's true," he piped up as he watched the other man leave.

Garcia stood to leave after she got a phone call from Kevin. "Kev is picking me up, I gotta go. "I'll see ya later, sweet cheeks." She kissed Spencer on the cheek as she headed for the door. "No silly stuff this week, promise?"

"I promise," Spencer said.

Emily and Hotch hung around for a while longer, then Emily stood to leave. "Well, I'll see you two later." She turned to Hotch. "See ya at work tomorrow."

Hotch nodded and watched her leave. He sighed and looked over at the two men, who were now sitting side by side on the sofa. Spencer was leaning on Derek and his eyes were slowly shutting. Hotch wasn't surprised that the man was tired, he had a long day. "I guess I should be heading out too."

"I'll go get your coat," Derek said, standing.

"Thanks," Hotch said. He quickly went into the guest room and picked up Jack. He carried him out to the living room where Derek had brought the coats. "I'll stop by to check on you guys tomorrow at some point," he said as he put his coat on, and then gently put jack in his.

"I'd like that," Spencer said. He slowly stood up and walked over to stand by Derek. "Thanks for everything, Hotch. I really appreciated it."

Hotch smiled slightly. "Not a problem, Spencer."

Spencer raised his eyebrow in silent surprise as Hotch finished getting ready. _Wow, he never calls me Spencer. This ordeal must have been a lot more important to him than I though._ He smiled when Hotch looked at him again. "See you tomorrow then."

Hotch nodded and picked up Jack again. "Good night."

Spencer watched Hotch leave. He sighed and turned to Derek. "He called me Spencer," he said in surprise.

"That's you name, isn't it?" Derek joked, walking towards Spencer and hugging him. "He's relieved."

"About what?" Spencer asked over Derek's shoulder.

"You being ok," Derek said. He pulled back and looked at Spencer. "I don't think he would have stopped blaming himself if you died."

Spencer frowned and looked down. "I know you wouldn't have forgiven yourself either," he said quietly.

Derek frowned. "You're right, I wouldn't have. In fact, I probably would have followed you."

Spencer gasped and looked at him in terror. "No, don't ever think that, Derek."

"Spencer, I couldn't live without you," Derek said softly, searching Spencer's eyes. "Let's not think about that right now."

Spencer swallowed and hugged Derek again, tighter than he had before without hurting himself. He yawned suddenly. "I'm sleepy."

Derek smiled. "I think we should go to bed."

Spencer nodded and followed Derek to the bedroom. "You have to help me change because of my arm. I know you're going to have too much fun doing that."

Derek grinned as they entered the bedroom. "Well, I have to take advantage of that while I can, now can't I?"

Spencer couldn't help but smile. He allowed Derek to help him with his clothes. Once they were done, he climbed into bed. "It feels so good to be in my own bed again," he sighed.

Derek smiled and crawled in next to him. He shut off the light and wrapped his arm around Spencer, pulling him closer to him. "I love you, Spence."

"I love you too," Spencer replied sleepily. He closed his eyes and was asleep in no time.

Derek smiled and kissed his forehead. He was glad to have his Pretty Boy back.

**TBC**

**Yes, there is more to come! Some stuff involving Diane coming up in the next few chapters. Review, please.**


	16. SEE YOU AGAIN

**Ok, so someone informed me that Spencer's mom's name is actually Diana, and I've been calling her Diane. I didn't know, and when choosing the characters from fanfiction's list, she was listed as Diane R. I'll probably just keep calling her Diane throughout the rest of the story so as not to confuse myself or anyone else, but thanks for the update! I'll try to remember it for my next story (yes, there are more CM fics from me yet to come!) So here is the next chapter! I'm thinking there might be 1 or 2 more after this and then it's finished. **

**SEE YOU AGAIN**

Several days had passed since Spencer returned home from the hospital. He was moving around quite well, and was almost ready to take his arm out of the sling. He was also getting restless, and whenever Hotch would come to check up on him, he would practically beg him to let him come back to work.

"Please, Hotch, I'm getting so bored!" Spencer pleaded as the older man sat down on his couch. "I've read every book in the house at least twice and I've gone through all the documentaries I have. I even watched some of Derek's movies, most of which I found pointless and dumb, but don't tell him that."

Hotch simply stared at his youngest agent. "Reid, you know it's not safe for you to be back to work yet, especially not with your arm still in that sling." He sighed. Derek was out getting groceries, and was not here to back him up. "Trust me, you would be even more bored just sitting at the BAU doing nothing but paperwork."

Spencer huffed and plopped down in the chair opposite Hotch. "I just need something to do that I haven't done already. Honestly, the paperwork would be a relief. I could do everyone's, they would be happy and-"

"Reid, for the last time, "I'm not letting you come back for at least another six days," Hotch said sternly. He didn't want to get mad in front of Spencer, but he was starting to get agitated. He knew Spencer would want to return to work immediately. He looked across the room at the younger man, frowning a little at the hurt expression on his face. "Reid, it's just-"

"I know," Spencer interrupted him. "Safety precaution."

Hotch sighed and leaned back on the couch. This wasn't how he wanted his visit to go. He hoped Derek wouldn't be angry if he came back and found out that he upset Spencer over work. He though for a moment before speaking again. "Have you…though about visiting your mother?"

Spencer's eyes darkened for a moment and he nodded. "Yeah…I was just waiting for the 'ok' from you." He looked up at Hotch. "Could they…bring her here? She wouldn't be as scared if she were here."

Hotch nodded slowly. "I'll see what I can do about that. I'm also working on having her transferred to a home closer to here instead of a mental hospital. She might not be as agitated as she has been if she's closer to you."

"Yeah," Spencer said quietly. He looked up when he heard the door opening, smiling when Derek came through the door with several bags in his arms. "Hi."

"Hey, Pretty Boy…Hotch," Derek said as he entered the apartment. He set the bags down in the kitchen and came back to stand by Spencer's chair. He frowned slightly. "What's wrong? You look upset about something?"

"He was just telling me how bored he's getting not being at work," Hotch said quickly.

Derek nodded and looked down at Spencer, resting his hand on his shoulder. "Spence, you know you have to take two weeks off before you can go back there."

"I know," Spencer said quietly, looking hurt again.

Hotch frowned. "I should go," he said, standing and straightening his jacket. "Reid, I'll see what I can do about getting your mom out here…and I'll bring you some puzzles or something."

Spencer smiled slightly. "Thanks, Hotch."

Hotch nodded and turned to eave the apartment. Once he was out in his car, he pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the number for the place where they were keeping Diane Reid. "Hello, this is Agent Hotchner again…I have a request."

* * *

_**About 6 hours later…**_

Spencer rolled onto his back and stretched. He had just woken up from a nap because he thought he heard talking in the living room. He opened his eyes and looked around the dark bedroom. He didn't remember coming in here, he had fallen asleep on the couch. _Derek must have carried me in here. _He still felt tired, so he snuggled deeper into the covers and closed his eyes again. It was only around 4:30, Derek didn't usually make dinner until about 6:30, so he could still get some more sleep. His plans were interrupted when the bedroom door opened slowly. He looked over to see Derek standing in the doorway. "Derek?"

Derek smiled and walked into the room. "Hey, Pretty Boy, you feeling ok?"

Spencer nodded and sat up in bed. He turned the bedside lamp on and looked at Derek. He noticed the man looked happy and nervous at the same time. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," Derek said, sitting on the bed next to Spencer. "I came to see if you were awake. You have a visitor."

Spencer wondered who it could be at this time of the day. He climbed out of bed and followed Derek into the hall. "Who is here?"

"You'll see," Derek said, turning to look at him. "If you feel scared or anything, just let me know and I'll get you out of there, ok?"

Spencer nodded in mild confusion and stepped into the living room. He gasped and nearly fell over when he saw who was sitting on the couch. "M-Mom?"

Diane stood up and spun around to face Spencer. The look on her face was one of joy, sadness, and pain all in one. Tears came to her eyes as she looked over her son, frowning at the sling that supported his arm. "Spencer," she said quietly. She extended her arms and began to walk towards him.

Spencer met her half way and wrapped his good arm tightly around her. "Mom," he said sadly, feeling her wrap her arms around him. He peered over her shoulder, noticing that Hotch was there as well, and another man that probably worked at the ward they had his mother in at the time. He shivered slightly; he didn't want her to have to go back to that ward. He finally pulled back and looked at Diane. "I've missed you so much, Mom."

Diane nodded, and then suddenly burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. "I'm so sorry, Spencer!"

Spencer once again put his arm around her. He looked at the other men in the room, a signal for them to clear out and leave the two of them alone. He watched as the men filed into the kitchen to give mother and son some time. "Mom, I'm ok now."

"No, you're not," Diane continued to cry. "Your arm is still in that thing!" She pointed to his sling, and then wiped some tears off her face. "I put you in the hospital," she said in a scared whisper. "I almost killed you."

"But you didn't, I'm right here," Spencer answered softly, leading Diane over to the couch. He sat down next to her and faced her. "I'm still here, you don't have to worry."

Diane snatched a tissue from the box on the coffee table and wiped her eyes. "What kind of mother does that to her son though, Spencer? I don't…I don't really remember the whole thing. They told me I shot you…with your own gun!"

Spencer frowned, wondering just how much the people at the hospital told her. "It was an accident, Mom. You…well, you weren't really in the right state of mind at the time."

"It seems like I never am anymore, Spencer," she said, a little more calmly now. She looked sadly at her son. "I can't remember things anymore. Now…now they want to put me away for good." She cast a frightened glance towards the kitchen where she knew the other officer stood, waiting to take her back to the ward. "I don't know what got into me at that place, I just didn't want to be there anymore."

Spencer took Diane's hands in his and held them tight. "Mom, Agent Hotchner, the guy I work with, he said he is going to try to talk them out of that. Maybe we could bring you somewhere closer to here. I could see you more often."

Diane sniffled and nodded. "I'd really like that, Spencer." She reached up and pushed some of Spencer's hair behind his ear. "I'm so glad you never gave up on me."

Spencer smiled lightly. "You never gave up on me, Mom."

Diane smiled and wiped the remaining tears off her face. She once again looked towards the kitchen, catching Derek peeking around the corner. "It's ok, you can come out," she said when he tried to hide.

Derek smiled lightly and came out of the kitchen, a glass of water in hand. "Thought you might like this," he said, handing the glass to Diane.

"Thank you," Derek," she said, accepting the glass of water.

Derek looked over at Spencer, noting the depressed look on his face as he looked at Diane. _He must be devastated; he doesn't want to see her put away like they want to. _He cleared his throat. "I'm going back to talk to Hotch."

Spencer nodded as Derek left the room. Diane looked at him again, having calmed down significantly. "I love you Mom, don't ever forget that. I'll always love you, no matter what happens."

"I love you too, Spencer," she said.

The officer that had brought Diane stepped out of the kitchen. "Ma'am, it's time to be going now, the ward is on a schedule. It was special permission to bring you out here in the first place."

Diane frowned and looked over to Spencer. "Will I get to see you again soon?"

"Of course," Spencer said. He stood and helped Diane up as well. A scared, sad feeling suddenly flooded through him, and he wrapped his arm tightly around Diane again, not wanting to let go. He forced back tears when she wrapped her arms around him just as urgently. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you…I'll see you, ok?" Diane said, finally releasing him. She smiled sadly at him as the officer gently led her out the door and to the car.

Spencer stood in the middle of the room and looked at the door, the feeling that he had still racing through him. He began to tremble lightly, still forcing back tears. He didn't want to cry anymore, but he just couldn't help it. He sighed when he felt Derek wrap his arms around his shoulders. "Derek," he said sadly.

Derek frowned and wrapped Spencer in a tight hug. "I'm right here." His frown deepened when Spencer began to cry on his shoulder. "Hey now, it'll be ok, I promise." He looked over at Hotch, who was standing in the corner, quite uncertain of what to do.

Hotch approached the two men and put his hand on Spencer's shoulder. "Reid, I'm going to do everything I can for your mom, ok?" He suddenly pulled Spencer away from Derek and into his own arms, hugging him tightly against him.

This pretty much startled the tears out of Spencer, and he quit crying when he found out that Hotch was now hugging him. "Ok," he answered quietly.

Hotch nodded and stepped away from him. "I have some work to do. I'll call you when I figure something out."

Spencer nodded and wiped his tears as Hotch left the apartment. He turned to Derek. "I just wish this was all over," he said sadly.

Derek frowned. "I know, babe, me too." He gently kissed Spencer and wiped the rest of the tears off his face. "I'm going to make some coffee, do you want some?"

Spencer nodded and sat back down on the couch, staring at the place Diane had been sitting. He wished that she were still there, that she hadn't had to eave so soon. He really wished Hotch could work something out and bring her closer to home, not in some mental hospital. He sighed and leaned back on the couch. He closed his eyes, wishing this whole mess would just be over.

**TBC**

**Ok, Spencer got to see his mother. Hopefully Hotch can work something out. Review and find out! **


	17. BUSINESS AS USUAL

**Last chapter! I'm going to miss writing this story, haha! But I have plans for another one to start right after this one! Thanks to everyone who read and review!**

**BUSINESS AS USUAL**

Another week had passed and Spencer was finally back at work. He was still confined to desk work, but it was better than sitting at home and doing nothing. He grinned to himself as he quickly wrote out a report for the latest case. He was very happy to be back.

"Ok, nobody looks _that _excited about paperwork," Emily said, approaching Spencer's desk.

Spencer looked up and smiled. "It's better than what I had been doing. I have those two books for you, by the way. Thanks for letting me borrow them."

Emily raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. "The ones I gave you two days ago? You read them already?"

"It took me couple hours," Spencer said casually as he double-checked the report that he had just finished. He looked back up at her. "You have something else I can write?"

Emily shook her head dumbly. "No, sorry. I guess you're the one who stole all the other case files off my desk and wrote the reports for those too?"

Spencer blushed slightly. "I, um, just wanted something to do."

Emily smiled. "Well I guess that means I can leave early tonight, no paperwork." She leaned on his desk and looked down at him. "How do you feel?"

"Better," Spencer said truthfully. "A little sore sometimes if I do a lot of walking, but I'm good. I'm glad I can finally move my arm now too." He indicated that his arm was no longer in the sling. "Hopefully Hotch decides to let me back in the field soon."

Emily nodded and turned around when she heard Derek and Hotch talking. "Hi, guys," she said as the other two men walked around the corner.

Derek smiled and Hotch simply nodded, both approaching the desk. "Checking to see what Pretty Boy is up to?" Derek asked, smiling down at his young lover.

"He stole all my paperwork," Emily said, smiling at Spencer and walking away. "I'd lock your office if I were you."

Derek laughed and looked down to see Spencer blushing again. "I'm glad you're back, Spence."

"We all are," Hotch added, looking down at his agent. "I see you're pretty much caught up on everything." He looked to the side of Spencer's desk where there were at least fifteen folders stacked neatly. "How long did it take you to do all those?"

"About forty minutes," Spencer said quietly, sliding down in his seat.

Hotch just stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Well, take a break. Can I see you in my office? I have something to discuss with you."

Yeah, I'll over in a minute," Spencer said. He watched Hotch leave and then he looked at Derek. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's good news," Derek said with a smile as he pulled Spencer out of his chair. "I already know about it of course. He put his arms round Spencer and hugged him tightly. "I love you."

Spencer smiled and hugged Derek tighter. "I love you too…now tell me what's going on."

Derek laughed and pulled back. "Go find out yourself, I'll be waiting here when you get back."

Spencer grinned at him and left, walking to Hotch's office. He knocked on the doorframe before entering. "Do you want me to shut the door?"

"You don't have to," Hotch said. He pointed to a chair in front of his desk. "You can sit down if you want."

Spencer did as he was told. He knew Hotch was still a little nervous about him moving around so much still. "Well Derek told me it was good news, are you letting me go back into the field?"

"Not yet," Hotch said. He frowned a little when Spencer looked down sadly. "But there is good news." He slid a piece of paper across the table and waited for Spencer to pick it up. "This is an address to a place I found. It's about a half an hour from here. It's a place similar to the home your mother was in, but it's set up a little differently. The people here are able to cook on their own and other things. Their room is like a small apartment. It helps make the occupant feel more independent, and there are a lot of records showing great improvement in the people there that have situations similar to that of your mother." He stopped for a moment to let Spencer look at the paper. "I thought it might be a good place to move your mother. I already discussed it with the people in the ward they currently have her; they think it would be fine. I just wanted to show you first to see what you thought about it."

Spencer stared at the paper. He wasn't sure what to say right off the bat. He finally looked up at Hotch, tears forming in his eyes. "This…this is great, Hotch."

Hotch smiled lightly. "I figured since she would be closer to you, she would get to see you more often. She might not be as stressed out."

Spencer nodded as a tear slid down his face. He wiped it away quickly. "I don't know how to thank you, Hotch," he said quietly.

"You don't have to, it was the least I could do after what happened." Hotch looked down at his desk, fidgeting with a pen.

Spencer swallowed and looked at his boss. "Hotch…it wasn't your fault what happened. I shouldn't have provoked her."

"Reid…I shouldn't have used that megaphone," Hotch said sadly.

There was a moment of silence between the men before Hotch finally stood up and walked around his desk. "If you want, everything can be moved to the new place from the old one today. Your mother will be able to get settled quicker."

Spencer stood up and nodded. He folded the paper and stuck it in his back pocket. He wasn't sure what to say still, so he simply stared at Hotch. He finally lost it, reaching forward and hugging the man. "Thank you, Hotch," he said quietly. He tried desperately to hold back tears as he felt the other man hug him back. He looked up and smiled when Derek entered the office.

"Told you it was good news," Derek said with a smile as he leaned against the doorframe.

Hotch finally let go of Spencer and backed up. "You can take the rest of the day off if you like, so you can get started moving in your mother's things." He looked over at Derek. "Morgan, you can go too if you wish."

"Thanks, Hotch," Derek said, gently taking Spencer by the arm and leading him out of the office. He looked at his young lover and smiled. "Do you need a tissue?"

"No, I'm ok," Spencer said, wiping away his remaining tears. He looked at Derek. "I'm so happy."

"I can tell," Derek said, putting his arm around Spencer. "Let's get our things and go."

Spencer nodded and followed Derek, excited to move his mother into a place closer to home.

* * *

Spencer set the last small box on the dresser and looked around the room. Hotch had been right, the place was perfect. The room had an apartment like feel. There was a bedroom with a connected bathroom, a living area, and even a small kitchen. There was also a powder room off to the side if there were ever any guests. It was a good size, much bigger and cozier than the one room that his mother had been in before. He looked over when Derek entered the room. "Hey, we can get started if you want."

"Sure thing," Derek said, opening one of the boxes on the floor.

The two men started unpacking everything for the bedroom. Spencer had let his mother look through a catalogue to pick her favorite bed set. He smiled when he pulled the same bed set from the box and helped Derek make up the bed. Once they were finished, he stepped back and admired it. "You know, I'm not much of a floral person, but this doesn't look half bad."

"It gives me some ideas of what I want to do in our bed when we get home tonight," Derek said, putting his arms around Spencer's waist.

Spencer blushed madly and smiled. "We should finish before you distract me too much."

The two men finished putting up the necessary curtains and placing the basic necessities in the bathroom and powder room. Spencer had also brought his mother's old pots and pans from home to use in the kitchen. The living area was pretty much already set up except for whatever rugs or pictures they put up.

"I thought she might like this picture," Spencer said, pulling out a frame with a picture of him and Derek snuggling under a tree.

Derek smiled. "I think she will too."

The men had soon finished, and Spencer went out to the just arriving van to get his mother. He led her into the building, clinging to her hand as she walked close to him. He could tell she was still nervous. "I really think you're going to like it here, Mom. I'm only a half and hour away, so I can visit you every week. There's even a kitchen where you can cook that pasta you miss making so much."

Diane smiled lightly. "It's not the same as that pasta at that old place. Mine is better."

Spencer smiled; glad to see his mother in higher spirits. He led her to her new room; letting her go once she was in the room. "Take a look around."

Diane inspected the room carefully, seeming glad that there was indeed a kitchen. She smiled a little when she saw the bed spread that she had picked. She stopped to look at the pictures on the shelves. She smiled widely when she saw the one of Derek and Spencer. She turned to the two men and smiled. "I really do like it here…that old place was like a cell."

Spencer walked towards her and gave her a hug. "I'm glad you like it, Mom."

Diane hugged Spencer back tightly. She looked over his shoulder at Derek, and beckoned for him to come join the hug as well.

Derek smiled as he approached them and Diane put her arm around him as well. He smiled down at Spencer and winked.

The two men stayed for about an hour to help Diane unpack whatever clothes she had, and to just sit around and talk. The finally decided it was time to go.

Spencer once again hugged Diane. "I'll see you later this week, ok?"

"Yes, I'm so glad you're so close now," Diane said. "So much better than Vegas."

Derek gave Diane a hug as well before he and Spencer left. Once they were out to the car, he turned to look at Spencer. He was relieved to see that the younger man looked happy. "It's great to see you with a real smile on your face again."

Spencer smiled at him. "It feels good to be happy again."

Derek started the car and pulled out of the lot. He took Spencer's hand in his and sighed in content. _This is how it should be. _

**END**

**Now I'm sad that it's over. Hope you guys liked it, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Remember I'll be starting another CM fic soon, so be ready! On a more random note, I just realized that if you take the first three letters of the words in the title of this chapter, it spells BAU. Ha! I didn't plan that…ok, told you that was random. **


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